


Momoiro no Tsubasa

by Kaizoku_no_Kazoku



Category: One Piece
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-08-21 18:44:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8256370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaizoku_no_Kazoku/pseuds/Kaizoku_no_Kazoku
Summary: On an island that seems to be a beautiful paradise, Zoro eats a fruit that turns him into a human/moth hybrid with beautifully colored wings. The way the natives of the island treat these hybrids makes this paradise anything but. LuZo Damsel!Zoro





	1. Things Aren't Always What They Seem...

The island on which the Strawhats made landfall was a beautiful, tropical one. The warm sun shone down on beautiful trees and flowers of various types, some they'd seen before and some which were completely alien to them. There was all sorts of good food, from exotic fish to brightly colored fruits and vegetables. There were palm trees and shells that sparkled like jewels on the glistening white sand beaches. All in all, it seemed a wonderful place to settle down if one was into staying in one place.

Then again, according to the locals, they were going to be staying on the island for at least five weeks since that was exactly how long it was going to take the log pose to set, so in a way, they were staying in one place. Boredom threatened to overwhelm Zoro, so getting off the ship once they'd dropped anchor was a top priority.

"Ad-veeen-ture! Ad-veeen-ture!" Luffy sang as he and Zoro flung themselves over the railing of the ship and onto the ground.

"Most people want to rest and relax in a place like this," Nami said as she leaned over the same railing they'd jumped over just moments before. "But you want to adventure. Just make sure you keep an eye on Zoro so he doesn't wander off."

Zoro grumbled something about knowing exactly what he was doing, then he and Luffy were off.

\--------------------

Not wanting his most precious person to get lost, Luffy took and held Zoro's hand as they walked around a bustling city, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. There were children playing along the sidewalks, and vendors beckoned to them from the streets, wanting the two newcomers to taste their wares.

"They have lobster kabobs over there!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, pointing. "Come on Zoro, let's get some! My treat!"

"Well, okay. But don't buy too many," Zoro said as he walked with Luffy to the vendor stall.

"Hello there! Would you like to try my lobster kabobs?" The vendor asked in a friendly manner. He was a rotund fellow looking to be in his late fifties, with a bright smile on his face.

Luffy nodded vigorously. "Yeah, we'll have five skewers each!"

"Aho! I told you not to buy too many!" Zoro said, cuffing Luffy on the head. Then he turned to the vendor. "What he actually means is we'll have two each."

"But Zoro~!" Luffy whined as he paid for the four skewers. "We have enough money for ten!"

"We don't need ten!" Zoro told him.

The man laughed heartily as he took the money and handed them their kabobs.

"So what kind of attractions are there here?" Zoro asked as he blew on one of his kabobs before biting off a piece. "This is really good!"

"Well, you're in luck if you can stick around until later this week," the man said as he prepared his grill for more kabobs. "Later this week, we have our annual island festival with music, good food, fun games and prizes, and there will be a fireworks display at the end of the night."

"Sounds like fun!" Luffy said, getting pumped. "We'll definitely be staying for that!"

"You guys can go. A festival's not really my thing," Zoro stated, biting off another piece.

"But Zoro, I wanna go with you!!" Luffy, who'd already inhaled his kabobs, whined.

"It's not even here yet!" Zoro said as he held his kabobs away from a grabbing Luffy. The man handed Luffy another one "on the house".

"I know, but it'll be fun!" Luffy said, cozying up to his boyfriend.

"Eh, alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay there a few hours," Zoro said, giving in.

They thanked the man for the food, then they were off again.

\--------------------

"Zoro?" Luffy looked around. He couldn't find Zoro anywhere, and he'd only let go of his hand for a second! "Zoro!"

He ran all around the city, trying to think like a Zoro. After about a half hour of looking, he ran back to the ship. Maybe Zoro had found his way back there?

"Sanji! Sanji! I lost Zoro! I only let him go for a split second, and now he's gone!" Luffy cried as he ran into the galley.

Sanji snuffed his cigarette out in an ashtray. "Whoa, whoa. Hold on. Calm down. Where did you last see him?" He asked.

Luffy couldn't just simply, "calm down". Not with his boyfriend missing! "We were returning to the ship, when I let go of his hand, then like a second later, he was gone!"

It was a good thing that everyone had their own Baby Den Den Mushi with them this time around. Everyone except Zoro that is, who'd been supposed to stay with Luffy. Sanji called everyone else, alerting the rest of the crew to the disappearance of their crewmate. "And when you find him, bring him back to the ship. Luffy's waiting for him." Then he disconnected. "Try not to worry too much about him. He'll eventually find his way back."

\--------------------

Zoro looked around. There were nothing but trees and strange bushes and other plantlife growing all around him. He was hungry, tired, and had no idea where Luffy had gone, or where he himself even was for that matter. The time was tending towards evening when he spotted a cave up ahead. Maybe he could rest there and get his bearings before searching again for the ship.

\--------------------

It was surprisingly not too dark inside the large and winding tunnel. As he wandered further in, a sweet, fruity smell met his nostrils. At first his tried to ignore it, but as he wandered further, the fragrance became stronger until it was impossible to ignore, as if it were trying to lure him.

After several minutes of walking, he came upon a large cavern with a high ceiling. What surprised him was that, right smack in the middle of the cavern, was a strange tree, though what a tree was doing growing in a cave was beyond him. What was also strange was that the leaves were odd shades of either pink and lilac, pale yellow and baby blue, and peach and mint green. All pastel colors. The strangest of all though, was a single small, green fruit about the size of his fist hanging from one of the branches. It was nothing really remarkable, other than being star-shaped. He deduced that the fragrance was wafting from the tree.

Normally, he was cautious about such things, but he knew two things. One, he was ravenous, and two, that fruit was not a devil fruit. They'd eaten many strange things on many strange islands over the course of their adventures. What could it do to him?

Feeling emboldened, he picked the fruit, wiping it on his sleeve before taking a bite.

This was definitely not a devil fruit. It was fragrant and had a soft, but slightly crispy texture. It was also delicious, in a way that no devil fruit had ever been described. It had no seeds, nor core, just pure juicy deliciousness all the way through. He wiped the juice from his mouth after finishing the last bite, then licked the juice from the back of his hand.

Wondering where he could get another of these fruits, his eyes set upon the leaves of the tree. Specifically, the pink and lilac ones. He picked one, tentatively gave it a nibble, then realizing that the leaves were much like the fruit in flavor and texture, he set about eating his fill of those...

\--------------------

The rest of the crew had all but given up on finding Zoro, and Luffy was on the verge of breaking down. The only other times he got this hysterical was on the rare occasions he misplaced his hat. "Calm down Luffy," Nami said calmly, trying her best to refrain from shaking her captain. "He's still on this island somewhere, we just need to find him."

"Yeah, he can't have gone too far," Usopp added. "It's just that he's probably looking for us at the same time we're looking for him so it'll probably take a while longer."

"Either we'll find him, or he'll find his way back to the ship... eventually," Sanji said, taking a puff of his cigarette. "Either way, it'll help if we remain calm."

Luffy tried to calm himself down. He focused his mind on finding Zoro, and he wouldn't rest until he did.

\--------------------

Now that Zoro's stomach was full, he was sleepy. No, it was more like he was exhausted. After he'd eaten the fruit, he'd stripped every pink and lilac leaf from the tree. For some odd reason, he only found the ones of that color combination appetizing. He'd tasted the other colors not finding them to his liking at all. Now, he needed to get back to the ship so he could rest.

Amazingly, he was able to make his way out of the cave, as if his feet somehow knew instinctively where to go. Once he was out of the cave, he picked a seemingly random direction, and began walking again.

\--------------------

Everyone except Luffy was asleep by the time he'd gotten back. The ship was eerily quiet, and Luffy was sitting in the dining area of the galley when Zoro ambled in. Luffy trotted over to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Zoro several times.

"Where've you been?" Luffy asked quietly. "We've been worried sick!"

"Cave..." Zoro said around a jaw-cracking yawn, barely able to keep his eye open.

"Cave? What kind of cave?" Luffy asked as Zoro began to drag him, still hanging onto him, into the men's quarters.

"Fruit," Zoro said simply as he shed his swords and dropped limply into his hammock.

"Fruit... cave? What does that even mean?" Luffy asked, but Zoro was already asleep. "Goodnight Zoro, see you in the morning."

Luffy thought about it a while, wondering what kind of fruits Zoro had seen. Was it like a stash of devil fruits? But then again, probably not. Those were rare, even on the Grandline. Plus, there was nothing different about Zoro. What kind of fruit was he talking about then? Oh well, maybe I could ask him tomorrow, Luffy thought as he slipped into the hammock next to his beloved, embraced him, and closed his eyes with a smile.

\--------------------

"What the hell is THAT??"

Luffy was jolted out of his sleep by Sanji's exclamation. Upon awakening, he noticed to his utter disappointment, that Zoro was gone again. "Sanji, Zoro-" Luffy cut himself off as he followed Sanji's gaze upward into a corner of the men's quarters where the two walls met the ceiling.

There was a massive, off white, cocoon-like formation nestled into that corner. "What do you think it is?" Luffy whispered to Sanji as if the thing on the wall would hear him.

"I don't know, but we need to get it out of here, and quickly, before whatever's in there comes out." Sanji lit a cigarette, taking a drag off of it. He wondered, not for the first time since seeing it, how whatever it was had gotten past their defenses and into the men's quarters of the ship. He was startled out of his thoughts by Luffy's panicked yell.

"AH! Whatever made that thing TOOK ZORO!! LOOK!" Luffy pointed to Zoro's clothing lying on the floor; coat, sash, haramaki, pants, and boots. By that time, the rest of the crew in the men's quarters were waking up, one by one wondering what was making Luffy so upset, and one by one beginning to gawk at the strange 'thing' that had seemingly grown overnight on the walls near the ceiling.

"What the hell is that thing??" Franky asked as he walked over and tentatively touched part of it with his massive hand, then giving it a gentle squeeze. "Whatever's in it is alive, and it moves when I squeeze it."

"Don't squeeze it. We still don't know what it is," Sanji reasoned, thinking it looked like a cocoon of some sort.

Noticing that they were short one crewmate, Franky and the others looked around for Zoro. "Where's Zoro-bro?"

Luffy, who'd tried to calm himself down, told Franky, "Whatever made that thing, took Zoro! He came back a few hours ago, talking about caves and fruits, and when I woke up," Luffy pointed to the corner where the cocoon thing was, "that was up there, and those," He pointed to Zoro's clothing. "were down there."

Franky put a hand to his chin. "Maybe if we open it up, we could see what's inside, and get a clue as to Zoro's whereabouts."

"Great idea!" Usopp chimed in.

"Bad idea," Robin said from the door of the men's quarters. Everyone looked around to see her and Nami standing there.

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked. "Zoro came back but he's gone missing again." He pointed to the swordsman's clothes beneath the cocoon. "His clothing is still here, so we were going to try to find out what happened to him."

"If what I've read about this particular island is correct, you may not want to disturb that cocoon," she said, coming in.

"How come?" Chopper asked.

"Because Zoro's inside," she replied simply.

"But if he's inside, shouldn't we get him out then?" Usopp asked worriedly. "We don't even know what put him in there!"

"No one put him inside, he made it himself," Robin told him. "Come with me. I have something to show you."

\--------------------

In the library of the Sunny, Robin cracked open a book she'd read on the culture, customs, and history of the island they were currently visiting, as well as a book on the plantlife.. Over the course of the next several minutes, Robin explained in detail about the caves, the trees with their fruit, and what happens to the human body once the fruit is eaten.

"So that's what Zoro meant," Luffy said, getting it now.

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked.

"When Zoro came back, I asked him where he'd been, and he was so sleepy, he just said "cave". When I asked him what kind, he said "fruit". But I didn't know what he meant," Luffy explained. "Do you really think he could have found one of those fruits, and not something else?"

"Yeah, you did say they were rare," Usopp piped in.

"Yes, one or two grow in the caves once every one-to-three years," Robin said, recalling what she'd read. "They're rare, as well as being extremely difficult to locate for the great majority of people."

"So the question that remains is, how did Zoro, of all people, find one?" Sanji asked, taking out another cigarette, lighting it and taking a drag, blowing out the smoke.

"I'm not sure. All we know for certain is that he's eaten at least one, and one is all it takes. It's only a matter of time before he comes out of the cocoon and we get to see the new Zoro."

A smile spread over Luffy's face as he thought about Zoro's new form. "Zoro's gonna have wings! I wonder what color they'll be?"

"It'll depend on whether or not he ate some of the tree leaves. Each tree has three different color combinations. Usually pastel colors like pink and baby blue," Robin went on explaining. "If he didn't eat the leaves, his wings will just be a dull brown or grey color. As for the colors of Zoro's wings, we'll just have to wait and see."

"I hope they'll be pink!" Luffy laughed. "That'll go great with his green hair!"

"I don't think pink and green would go together..." Usopp said, trying to think about what that would look like.

"What are you talking about?" said Luffy indignantly. "Pink and green go great together! Like a watermelon!"

"I dunno..."

"They do!"

"Besides, the inside of a watermelon is more red than pink."

"Pink and green will be pretty!"

"What's the point of arguing when we haven't even seen his new form yet?" Franky asked, shugging his huge shoulders. "We don't even know what color his wings will be!"

Luffy laughed. "Gonna be pink!"

"How do you know?"

"I just know!"


	2. Hey Zoro, It's me, Luffy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small note: I know nothing of katana names besides the ones that Zoro already owns. Also, the rest of the chapters shouldn't be as weird as that first one was :-)

Luffy sat on his box hammock in the men's quarters, gazing at Zoro's cocoon in anticipation. According to Robin, it was going to be at least three weeks before he'd see his boyfriend's new transformation. When he came out, he was going to be a human/moth hybrid, complete with feathery antennae, and an extra pair of limbs. This made Luffy happy, knowing that Zoro would be able to use five swords now.

It had only been four days, but Luffy was anxious for Zoro to come back to him. He'd been told that although Zoro was in a deep state of unconsciousness, he would most likely hear it when Luffy talked to him. So that's what Luffy did, everyday. He was even missing the festival going on right now to be with Zoro.

"Hey Zoro, it's me, Luffy," The rubberman began quietly as he lay on his back in his hammock, which fortunately was up near Zoro's current position on the wall. "I can't wait to see you again! Robin says that that fruit you ate is gonna make you be able to fly! Won't that be cool? I really hope you ate the pink leaves too, so your wings will be pretty! So pretty!" He rolled over onto his side, touching the surface of the cocoon lightly where he thought Zoro's chest to be. He could feel Zoro's slow, even breathing, and a slight heartbeat. "Chopper checks on you three times a day to make sure you're doing okay. He says you're okay so far, but I wanna see you! I wanna see you again so bad! It's almost like when we were apart for those two years."

He moved his hand up to where he knew Zoro's face to be. He caressed the covering as if it were Zoro's cheek. "I love you, Zoro, and I miss you. It's- well, not loneliness, but..." Luffy sighed. "A feeling that's like... I'm not alone, but I'm still feeling lonely... Something like that... ya know? Come back to me, Zoro. As quick as you can, okay?"

There was something Robin had also told them about the culture and people here, that troubled Luffy. But not wanting to upset Zoro, he kept quiet about it, for now. If, after the log set, they could leave immediately, then all would be well anyway. At least, he hoped it would work out that way.

Luffy let his eyes drift closed just as the first explosions of fireworks from the festival were audible from inside the ship.

\--------------------

Three weeks and two days had passed without so much as a peep from the cocoon, and Luffy was getting antsy. And worried. Chopper assured him that Zoro was okay, just that it was taking time for him to finish developing so that he could emerge from the cocoon in his fully transformed glory.

"Maybe he's having trouble coming out," Luffy said as he paced the floor the night of the third day that Zoro had failed to emerge. "Maybe I should help him!"

"No!" Franky, Usopp, and Chopper shouted simultaneously, moving to stop him.

"Robin didn't say it would be exactly three weeks. It could take longer than that," Franky reasoned. "Besides, when he's ready to come out, he's strong enough to get out of it himself."

Luffy sighed, hoisting himself up onto his hammock. He touched the off white surface of the cocoon. "I know, I just want Zoro back."

"We know. He'll be back with you soon enough."

\--------------------

His mind slowly floated to a fuzzy consciousness, the very little light he saw around his enclosure indicating that it was nighttime. The pocket he currently resided in was comfortable and warm, but cramped, and he knew instinctively that now was the time to come back out into the world from which he'd been hidden away for so long.

Joining his hands back-to-back, he let his fingers do the work of prodding and parting the densely packed fibers that made up the cocoon. It took several minutes, but he was able to finally open a hole big enough out of which to gaze. The air that hit his face was cool, almost cold, compared to the air inside his snug cocoon. His good eye had better night vision now, and he could clearly see Luffy sleeping in his hammock, a bit off to his side.

He watched the rubberman lie sleeping on his side, his arm stretched out, touching the thick, fibrous mass that was Zoro's now partially open cocoon. Zoro lingered inside a little longer, then carefully and laboriously ripped his way through the rest of the tough, cottony fibers.

Freeing his damp wings, he clung to the surface of the now empty cocoon, shaking them out and letting them hang down loosely. It wouldn't take long for them to dry, he knew, then he could set about getting himself some clothing from his stash.

He hadn't expected his new wings to be pink with lilac swirl and spot patterns on them. So the leaves he'd eaten determined the wing color. He should have left them alone. But he'd been so hungry. And he didn't remember anything from the time he'd finished the last leaf to now.

The fact that he had wings, oddly enough, didn't surprise him. There were many weird types of fruit to be obtained along the Grandline. Some good, some not so good. The additional limbs however, did surprise him. He smiled. Now he could wield five katana! He'd have to go into town later to buy two more. He turned, gazing down at his rubber boyfriend, realizing that katana weren't the only thing he could hold with four arms...

\--------------------

Luffy awoke to a familiar warm embrace. He snuggled in further. "Zoro...". Then his brain caught up with what he'd said, and his eyes shot open, taking in the new form of his sleeping boyfriend. "Zoro! Zoro, you're back!" He exclaimed as he pulled Zoro, who was beginning to awaken, closer to him. "I've missed you so much!"

"...Missed you too, Luffy..." Zoro murmured sleepily as his eyelid slid closed again.

Luffy lifted his head to peer at Zoro's wings. "I knew they'd be pink," he said with a smile in his voice. He stroked one with his palm. "So pretty..." He couldn't wait to see Zoro in full flight! His eyes drifted up to the top of Zoro's head where his large feathery antennae lay on the pillow. Luffy gently ran his fingers over the feathery part, stopping when Zoro shook his head.

"Stop that... It tickles," Zoro said, pulling the blanket over his head.

"Gomen, gomen!" The black haired man beside him laughed cheerfully. Luffy wrapped his arms around Zoro, then he sniffed his boyfriend's hair. First tentatively, then he took a deep whiff. "You smell really nice Zoro. Like... like honeysuckle! Is it a new shampoo?"

"No, I haven't bought any new shampoo in a while, and I haven't washed my hair yet either," Zoro replied.

Then Luffy remembered something that Robin had said about the human/moth hybrids. That they had a distinct sweet candylike, floral-sometimes-fruity scent to them.

"You smell so good..." Luffy said as he buried his nose into Zoro's hair once more.

\--------------------

"None of my shirts fit anymore!" Zoro griped later that morning as he tried on garment after garment, tossing each to the floor in frustration.

"You have wings and four arms now. Why'd you think that they would still fit?" Usopp asked as Zoro slipped his haramaki over his belly, seemingly pleased to find that his new body wouldn't interfere with him wearing it.

"I didn't think-" He sighed. "I don't know why. I just thought they would, is all."

"What's wrong?" Nami asked as she peeked in the door of the men's quarters, watching Zoro as he tried on a tank, then threw it to the floor with the rest of his tops.

Usopp filled her in, as he watched Zoro's frustration increase. "None of his shirts fit him anymore,"

"Well, that's a given," she said as Zoro picked up the pile of clothing and unceremoniously dumped them, unfolded, back into their container where he'd gotten them from. "Robin and I are going shopping. Maybe we can pick you up some more shirts made just for humoths."

"Humoths??" Zoro asked indignantly.

"Yeah, that's what I've decided to call your species. It's easier than saying human/moth hybrid," she said calmly.

"I'll have you know that I still consider myself a human!" Zoro told her as he closed the container. He tied a sash around his waist, sticking his three katana into it. "I'm not this thing you call a humoth!"

"Awww, I wonder if you remember that debt you owe me from two years ago in Loguetown?" She asked innocently.

Zoro narrowed his good eye and grit his teeth. "Fine. Call me what you want! I don't care! Just leave me alone." And he brushed past her, storming out of the room.

\--------------------

As he was enjoying a leisurely flight around the crow's nest of the Sunny, Zoro thought about things. He'd been happy to discover that his wings weren't paper-thin, and were actually strong enough and flexible enough to support his weight.

Try as he might, he couldn't remember anything between eating the cave fruit and leaves and coming out of the cocoon. It literally felt like one day he was a normal person, then the next he was a human/moth hybrid.

Thanks to Robin filling him in, he knew that as a newly transformed hybrid, he'd need to be careful around this island. He sighed. He couldn't wait to set sail, so he could freely fly around without restriction. He turned in mid-air as he heard a tap on the hatch of the crow's nest.

"Zoro..." Luffy marveled, coming through the hatch. "Your flight is so beautiful... How did you learn to fly so well right after you got your wings?"

Zoro thought a moment. "Maybe it's instinctive, like it is for a butterfly or moth when they get their wings."

Luffy grinned as he walked over to his green-haired boyfriend. "I wish I could fly. How does it feel?"

"Flying feels wonderful!" Zoro admitted, letting Luffy crawl up to his shoulders, taking off again. "I can't wait until I can fly outside, fully free!"

"Just a few days more," Luffy reminded him. "Mmm... This does feel wonderful!"

\---------------------

"Where are you going?" Nami asked Zoro a couple days later as he came up from below deck, looking as if he were preparing to leave the ship. He was wearing one of the new shirts she and Robin had picked out for him.

"Gonna go buy myself some new katana, 'cause I can use five now," he told her, as he unfolded his wings, preparing for flight. He had grown tired of staying hidden.

"You can't! I mean, it'll only be a few more days before we leave this island," she said standing and walking over to him. "You have to stay hidden until then."

"Nothing's gonna happen to me," he said confidently. "They couldn't catch me anyway."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Nami said. "But, if you're insisting on going out anyway, then wait here. I have something you'll need."

\--------------------

Dressed in a long cloak to hide his wings and a large hat that flopped down in the back to hide his antennae, Zoro strolled through the marketplace searching for a merchant selling katana.

He knew he had to be careful and not reveal what he really was to anyone on this island. According to Robin and the others, the people who consumed the fruits and gained the moth-like characteristics such as he had, were treated as national treasures, but at the same time, their humanity was stripped from them by law. People here preferred to keep them as beautiful, elaborate pets, where they lived their lives in small cages, and were not allowed to leave the island. It was probably no wonder he hadn't seen any other human/moth hybrids in his time on the island. Until he'd become one, he hadn't even known such a thing existed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shop selling new and used katana, and wrapping his cloak tighter around himself, he walked in.

"Irasshaimase!" The man behind the counter greeted cheerfully. "Is there anything I could interest you in? We have many types of katana. Is there a specific type you're looking for?"

Zoro shook his head, reaching up with one hand to pull the hat tighter onto his head. He quickly pulled it back into the sleeve. "Not really. Just browsing for now."

The man's eyes dropped down to Zoro's three katana, which were tied to the cloak with his red sash, then back up to his face. "You a collector?"

"Yeah," Zoro answered simply. "Something like that." He wished the man would leave him to his browsing.

"You collect rare katana I see," the man observed, noting the type Zoro had with him. "I have a few here, if you'd like to see them."

Zoro really wanted to see them and check them out, but he didn't have enough money to buy two rare ones. Plus, he didn't have much time. He didn't want to get found out before he could get back to the ship. Then again, the katana were rare. "Yeah, I'd like to have a look."

The man took him into another room of the shop and over to a large glass display. "Here we are. They're not quite as rare and sought after as yours are, but it's what we have. Browse till your heart's content. I'll be in there if you find something you like." Then he walked back into the main room of the store.

Zoro breathed a sigh of relief as the man left. As he browsed the selection of rare katana, his ears picked up the sounds going on in the other room. He couldn't really relax though, or take off his cloak, even though it was uncomfortably warm.

He browsed some more, finding some katana to his liking, and wanting to try them out, but unfortunately, that wasn't really an option. He wished, just for a moment, that he could go back to being normal human Zoro. But things had changed now. And until they set sail for the next island, he had to stay as inconspicuous as possible. He knew he could fight off the people of the island and get away, but he preferred not to cause a stir.

Deciding on a rare katana from the case and another cheaper one from the wall beside the glass display, he went to get the man from the other room.

"I saw two I'm interested in. One of the rares, and a normal one," Zoro told him, hoping the man would remove it from the case to show him.

"Which ones would you like to see?" The man asked Zoro as he led him back into the other room.

Zoro pointed to the two he wanted; the man taking out the rare one from the case first. "So you like this one then," he said as he liberated the blade from it's sheath. He watched as Zoro's good eye lit up, and he tried and failed to contain a delighted smile. "The Moriume," the man said. At Zoro's look of confusion, he explained, "It has an innocent sounding name, but it's a very formidable katana. Would you like to hold it?"

Zoro was itching to hold it. Feel it come alive in his hands. But time, however, was of the essence. He regained his composure, and told the man, "Actually, I'd like to buy it, along with the other one."

"Good choices," the man said as he took the other katana off the wall, taking both swords to the checkout counter.

"That will be 375,000 beri please," The merchant said as he rang up the katana.

As he turned to bundle the swords in a long sack made just for carrying them, Zoro took that opportunity to fish the currency out of an inner pocket of his cloak, pulling it back around him before the man could see anything. With one hand, he handed the man the money once he'd turned around again.

The man counted the money after handing Zoro his new katana. "Thank you, and if you get the chance, come again!" He waved as Zoro left the shop.

After Zoro had gone, the man noted the odor that still lingered for a few minutes in his shop. It smelled strongly of sake with fruity, sweet notes to it. Like honeysuckle. It was like nothing he'd ever smelled before. And he couldn't help but wonder about the hat, cloak, and the secretiveness of the young man. If he hadn't known better, he'd swear that the young green-haired man was one of their treasured hybrids. But, going by his appearance, he wasn't even from this country. But then, even with as rare as the fruits were, it still wasn't a stretch that a lucky foreigner could get ahold of one. They'd certainly not know what it was unless they'd done research on the island's plantlife. If the young man really was a hybrid, this was an urgent situation, and he couldn't be allowed to leave.

Grabbing his den den mushi from under the counter, he tapped in a number...

\--------------------

As Zoro walked along, he pulled down the brim of his hat, trying his best to look inconspicuous and blend in. It wasn't easy though, dressed as he was. There were a lot of people stopping and staring as he walked by, trying to ignore them. He had what he'd set out to acquire, now he just had to get back to the ship... If he could remember where it was.

Except for the one hand holding the sack, he was careful to keep his cloak closed and his eyes on the road ahead. Now if he could just find the area where they'd docked the ship, everything would go as planned.

"ZOROOO!!"

Zoro nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the familiar voice calling his name. He turned to see Luffy jogging toward him. "Shit Luffy! You nearly scared me half to death!"

He laughed. "Warui! Shishishishi!" He slowed to walk beside his boyfriend, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Nami told me you were buying new katana today. Are these them?" He peered at the long sack in Zoro's hand.

"Yeah," he said. "I didn't have enough money to get two good ones though. I had to get a cheaper one. I'll replace it when I have more money."

Luffy grinned, offering to carry them for his boyfriend. "I can't wait to see them in action!" He then sniffed at Zoro. In a quiet voice, he said, "Your honeysuckle smell is mixed with a sake smell now. It's weird."

"I had to disguise my scent some kind of way. This was the only thing I could think of," Zoro commented. "Why do I have to smell like flowers anyway?"

Just then, about eight armed officials from the country's government quickly surrounded them, cutting off any route for escape.

"Roronoa Zoro."

Zoro didn't like the way the head official spoke his name. By the way he'd spoken it, Zoro realized that this man was not looking to collect his bounty. Zoro's cloak was off and his katana drawn in less than the blink of an eye. Wings fully exposed now, he growled, "I'm only warning you once. Just step away, and no one gets hurt." He was not going to be forced into someone's tiny cage and live on this island for the rest of his life. He was a pirate, and pirates were free!

The officials hoisted their rifles and Luffy took action, using his Gomu Gomu no Gatling to clear a path for Zoro. Fortunately, he hadn't needed to, because as soon as the rifles had been raised, Zoro had taken to the air, swooping down to disable any reinforcements.

More government officials showed up, aiming and firing at Zoro who'd expertly diverted or dodged their bullets, while others on the ground tried to stop Luffy.

As Zoro swooped down again, he felt a jabbing pain in one of his upper left arms that nearly caused him to drop his katana. He had no time to pay attention to the gunshot wound however, he needed to-

And it was then that it hit him. A sense of acute drowsiness that threatened to pull him under. He glanced wide-eyed at the wound in his arm, and discovered... a tranquilizer dart. So those weren't bullets in those guns. Yanking it out, he realized he needed to get to the ship, and fast. If he got to the safety of the Sunny- He then felt the same jabbing pain in his right leg. Up in the air as he was, he could see the Sunny from his vantage point; his vision blurring and tunneling. Now just to get there before the darts knocked him completely unconscious.

Barely able to keep his eye open, he flew as fast as his wings would carry him, racing against time and the sedative to get to the ship. As the sedative took complete hold though, all three katana fell away from his hands. Taking a nosedive, he hit the ground at a bone-jarring speed, sliding a ways before coming to a stop.

Luffy screaming his name was the last thing he heard.


	3. Preparation For Sale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I wrote this fic, I'd completely forgotten about Momonosuke, seeing as how he wasn't present for most of the Dressrosa arc
> 
> Also, I apologize in advance for the small onslaught of OC's in this fic, but the Strawhats are on a new island. Anyway, I'm really sorry

"ZOROOOOO!!" Luffy screamed. "Gomu Gomu no GATLING!"

Officials flew this way and that through the air, scattering under Luffy's barrage. Zoro was draped over the back of a horse; one of the officials taking him further and further away from Luffy. He had to get him back!

Activating his haki, government officials dropped in an ever-widening circle around Luffy. While it didn't reach the officer taking Zoro from him, it did clear a path. By then though, Luffy could no longer see Zoro or the officer.

"Damn!" He swore out loud. He had an idea of their general direction, but not exactly where they'd gone. He whipped his head around, addressing a local, any local. "Where've they taken him?" No answer. "Where've they taken him?! I need to know!" He asked again, but no one seemed to want to answer. It was as if they thought it was okay for the hybrids to be treated the way the officials had treated Zoro. "Damn!" He swore again. He ran off in the direction of the Sunny, stopping only to pick up Zoro's other three katana along the way. He was going to get his boyfriend back, the culture and customs of this island be damned!

\--------------------

Cracking open an eyelid that was still heavy with sleep, Zoro took stock of his surroundings. He was lying on his side in a small but comfortable bed. His right arms were bandaged up to the shoulders, and the right wrist on his upper pair of limbs sported a white cast. Moving his head, he realized he'd been collared.

Looking around him, he realized he was in a cell in a clinic of some sort, the bars cutting the dim light of the place neatly into square chunks on the floor. Beyond the bars was a room of dimly lit white with tables, counters, cabinets, a sink, and operation equipment. Pushing off the blanket that covered him, he'd moved to sit up when a wave of dizziness hit him. Closing his eyes, he rode it out until it was more manageable, then he slowly sat all the way up.

A voice to his left startled him enough to whirl his head around, bringing back the dizziness and threatening to make him throw up.

"You tried to leave the island didn't you?" A young man in the next cell over, who appeared to be in his early thirties, said to him. Lying on his stomach, he sported a pair of pale yellow wings with peach colored swirl markings on them. Tucking a strand of long, dark brown hair behind his ear, he continued. "You can never escape from here. Too many governmental eyes."

Zoro just blinked tiredly at the man.

"You don't look like you're from around here," he observed. "Where you from?"

Without thinking, Zoro muttered, "East Blue..."

"Wow, you're really far from home," he said, and Zoro noticed a chain running from the stranger's collar to a ringbolt on the floor. He noticed that it was the same with his own. "You won't be going back there ever again. Once you're caught, you won't ever see freedom again. They call us treasures, but we're really just their prisoners. What's your name?"

"Zoro..."

"Like the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro?"

Zoro was too tired to talk much, so putting a hand to his still spinning head, he just said, "Yeah..."

"My name is Katsuya. Go get some rest, you're going to need it," the man said.

"No..." Zoro shook his head slowly, getting out of the bed. "Gotta get back to Luffy..." He walked to the front of his cell, grabbing the bars with three hands, attempting to break himself free.

"These cells are made of sea stone. You're not gonna be able to get out. When you're sold, they keep you in a cage made of the same stuff," Katsuya told him.

Zoro stopped for a moment, turning to look at Katsuya. "Why?"

"Why do they keep us in sea stone cages or why are the cages made of sea stone?" He asked, wondering which question Zoro wanted answered.

"Why are the cages made of sea stone?" Zoro asked, then began trying to free himself again.

"A few decades back, there was one of us who also happened to be a devil fruit eater. He was able to escape his cage, and was almost able to leave the island. Since then, they've made the cages from sea stone to guard against the possibility of another devil fruit user trying to escape. Unfortunately, the hardness of the stuff makes it impossible for us normal hybrids to escape too. It's a convenience for the people who keep us locked up as pets."

"Kuso..." Zoro swore, tightening his hands on the bars. How was he going to get back to Luffy if he couldn't get out of this cell?

Katsuya chuckled. "Still trying to get out of here, huh? They'll let you out, right around the time they sell you to someone who's just gonna keep you in a cage."

Zoro grabbed the collar, trying to rip it from his neck. It didn't budge. "This is sea stone too, I gather."

"Yes." Katsuya lay his chin on his hands. "The chain too. Is this Luffy you mention getting back to, I know this may be a stretch but, is he by chance Monkey D. Luffy?"

"Yeah, he's my Sencho," Zoro replied, banging his fists against the unyeilding bars. "Kuso!"

"So you _are_ Roronoa Zoro!" Katsuya laughed. "I've never met an actual pirate before!"

Zoro turned away from the bars, and careful of his wings, slid down to sit on the floor. "You seem happy for someone who's a prisoner," Zoro commented, turning to the man.

"When you're in a situation like this, you find every opportunity to laugh," the older man said. Then he turned serious, "If you don't, you'll go crazy..."

Zoro was quiet for a long time, before he spoke again. "When did you eat the fruit? I mean, like how long ago?"

"About ten years ago," Katsuya answered. "I think."

Zoro was confused. "Why did you eat the fruit if you knew about what it would do and how people would treat you because of it?"

"That's the insidious thing about it," Katsuya admitted. "It lures you. Especially if you're really hungry when you encounter it. It's that sweet, irresistable smell. Then when you find it, even if you're the most cautious of people, you get brave and eat it, thinking, 'What could it do to me?', you know? Then the next thing you know, you're hatching out of a cocoon in the middle of the night, and you have wings, feathery antennae, extra arms, and an unwanted lifetime prison sentence."

Zoro's good eye widened. "That's exactly what happened to me! I got separated from Luffy, and found these caves. And figuring I could rest and regroup there, I went inside."

"And that's how it gets you," Katsuya told him. "And apparently, not everyone is lured by the fruit. It seems to get random people."

"After you were discovered, how long was it before you were sold?" Zoro asked, running his fingers along the length of chain attached to his collar. If only he could find a way to remove it.

"I wasn't. The vet I was sent to decided they wanted to keep me. I've been here ever since."

A spike of fear, an emotion he wasn't used to feeling, lanced through Zoro's heart, "...And how long have you been here?"

Katsuya could read the fear on Zoro's face and in his demeanor. He really didn't want to tell him, but he didn't want to lie either. "...Almost the whole time I've been a hybrid."

At that, Zoro was again trying to find a way to free himself, looking for any weakness in the structure of the cell.

Katsuya sat up, waving his hands. "Whoa, wait! That wasn't what I meant! I'm allowed to get out sometime. They take me outside every now and then."

"I need to get off this island," Zoro said, beginning to wonder if there really was no way to get out of his cell. "I need to get to Luffy."

"I hate to tell you, but you'll likely never see Luffy again, or if you do, you'll always be separated by bars." Katsuya sighed. "I have a girlfriend who was pregnant with our first child when I was taken away from them. I see my son maybe a few times a year. And when they do show up, they don't even let me out to be with them."

"They're actually allowed to do that to people?" Zoro asked indignantly. "That's inhuman!"

"They don't see us as human anymore once we become hybrids. It's just the way things are here."

"Damn..." Zoro swore again, pulling up his legs and wrapping all four arms around his knees. "I gotta get out of here..."

Katsuya's heart went out to Zoro. This was how things had been for him when he was first imprisoned simply for being a hybrid. There wasn't a day that went by that he wished he could've been able to ignore the fruit, and not have become one. "Hey Zoro?..."

When Zoro looked up, he said, "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you'll see Luffy again..."

Zoro turned his head back around, sighing heavily.

Just then, he heard the sound of a door opening. Turning around, he saw a woman in a white coat entering. Instantly, he was back on his feet, hands tightly gripping the bars of his cell.

"It's good to see you awake, Momo," she said, coming closer to Zoro's cell. "You've been sleeping a long time now. I was almost afraid you wouldn't wake up."

The woman's gentle demeanor made most of Zoro's anger melt away. Now he just felt frustrated. "Momo?"

"Your wings are pink," she softly clarified.

Zoro blushed as pink as his wings. "I ate the pink leaves..."

The nurse smiled a gentle, pretty smile. "I think your wings are really pretty."

Zoro bristled inwardly, annoyed that anyone would call any part of him "pretty". He sighed, running a hand down his face. "Could you let me out of here? I need to-"

"I can't do that," she interrupted. "I wish I could set you free, I really do, but I could get into a lot of trouble if I let you go."

Zoro's brows furrowed, his frustration deepening. "But I need to get back to my nakama! They're really important to me!"

"I'm really sorry," she apologized sincerely. "But you've been sold to a family that lives not too far from here. They've arranged to pick you up tomorrow. They'll take really good care of you, and-"

"I already _have_ a family! My nakama are my family!" Zoro shouted, trying to free himself all over again. "Let me go! _Please_!" He hated to beg.

"I.. can't..." She knew how Momo felt in a way. The veterinarian resident pet Katsuya had been the same way when he was first locked in his cell. It took a lot of time for him to get used to his new lot in life. She could no longer stand to see Momo begging to be freed. "I... need to go... I'll come back to feed you later."

"No! Let me go! Don't leave!" Zoro shouted to her retreating back. After she'd gone, he'd sighed, turning and heading for his bed. Sitting down on it, he bowed his head, grabbing the hair on his head in two hands, and swore.

"Damn!"

\--------------------

"I _saw_ them take Zoro!" Luffy shouted, insisting that his nakama believe him. "They shot him down with tranquilizer darts, and took him away before I could get him back! And the locals wouldn't tell me where they took him!"

"We believe you," Sanji told, trying to get him to calm down. "But if we're going to get him back, we'll need to find out where he is, then formulate a plan."

Getting an idea, Chopper asked Luffy, "How hard did he fall when they shot him down?"

"He was trying to fly back to the ship when they shot him down, and he was flying really fast, so he hit the ground pretty hard and slid a ways. Why?"

"Maybe we should check the hospitals near the place where he was taken. Maybe he'll be there, and we can get him back!" Chopper said excitedly, waving his tiny arms.

"Great idea!" Usopp said, hoping that they wouldn't have any trouble taking him back, though with their history of trying to take back their nakama, it was doubtful that it would be trouble-free. Operation Take Back Zoro both scared and thrilled him at the same time, but mostly scared him. "Now that that's worked out, I'll stay here and guard the Sunny."

"What are you talking about? It's Franky's turn to guard the Sunny. You're coming with us." Sanji said, starting to get a bit agitated.

"I think I'm coming down with the "I-can't-go-on-this-island" disease!" Usopp stated fearfully.

"Usopp," Luffy said to his sniper. "You've been on this island before."

Usopp swallowed.

\----------------------

Their search for Zoro at all the hospitals and clinics so far proved fruitless. The staff of each was no help whatsoever in helping them locate their missing nakama. It was dusk now, and they were all tired, discouraged, and upset.

"I don't like this place anymore," Luffy huffed in frustration once they'd gotten back to the Sunny. "When we get Zoro back, lets just leave."

"You said it," Usopp agreed, thinking how even though this island seemed like a paradise to the unsuspecting eye, there were things going on here that made it anything but. "But the thing is, we have no leads as to where he might be."

"We should sleep now," Nami said. "We'll be thinking more clearly tomorrow as to what our next move will be."

\--------------------

Zoro was nearly ready to give up, as he'd exhausted all his options and was no closer to getting out than he'd been when he'd started. At this point, he was ready to rip his wings from his body if it would restore his freedom.

He sat in the corner of his cell, thinking that he may very well never see Luffy again at this point. The chain on his collar clinked quietly as he got up to move to the bed. Earlier, in preparation for his sale, a band with a registration number was locked around his right leg near the ankle. They'd had to sedate him again to get it on him. It was now well after midnight, and Zoro couldn't sleep. He couldn't even occupy his time talking to Katsuya, who was sound asleep in his own bed. Careful of his wings, he lay down on his back, putting his hands behind his head.

He wondered about the family that was supposed to be picking him up later. Nurse Kanagawa had told him that he was to be a birthday gift for their teenage daughter. Wondering what kind of girl she was, he slowly slipped into a fitful sleep.

\--------------------

_"From up here, you can see the whole Grandline!" Zoro heard Luffy marvel as he carried him on his shoulders. Wind in their hair, they soared through the air high above the rest of the world._

_"Where do you want to go?" Zoro asked as he surveyed the landscape._

_"Up so high, the clouds are below us!" Luffy laughed._

_"Okay!" Zoro smiled one of his rare smiles as he soared up, up, up into the clouds, Luffy shouting with joy the whole way..._

_"Momo?" A disembodied voice around them said. Zoro looked around him trying to find the source of the voice. "Momo, wake up..."_

Zoro blinked sleepily as reality came back to him. He was in his cell at the vet's office being awakened by Nurse Kanagawa and Luffy was nowhere to be found. It had been only a dream. He groaned and pulled the blanket over his head.

"No, Momo, don't go back to sleep! Your new family is here to pick you up," she said trying to pull back the blanket again.

Zoro took a small peek out of the blankets. He saw a man and woman looking to be in their late thirties to early forties with a refined, elegant appearance to them. The daughter wasn't with them. Zoro pulled the blanket shut once more. "I'm not going..." he protested sleepily. "...Wanna go back to my nakama..."

"You'll get new nakama you can talk to when you're with your new family," the nurse said.

"I don't want new nakama, and I already have a family," Zoro said, holding tight to his blanket. "Go away, all of you."

Nurse Kanagawa knew he'd be difficult, so excusing herself from the man and woman, she went to get a syringe. Filling it with a light sedative that would make him more cooperatve, she brought it back to her patient, ready to inject him with it.

When Zoro caught sight of the syringe, he threw off the blanket and jumped up, hands in front of him. The floor was cold on his bare feet, but he tried to pay it no mind. "Okay! Okay. I'll go," he said. His heart was a flurry of emotions. Sadness that he'd never see Luffy again, frustration that his adventures roaming the sea with him were coming to an end before they'd found One Piece, and anger that he was about to spend the rest of his life in some cage just because he'd been hungry enough to eat a strange fruit one day. He was twenty-one for goodness sake! He had a long time left to live! He'd be damned if he was going to spend the rest of his life in a cage to be gawked at!

"No! I'm not going!" Zoro said with renewed resolve. He moved around the bed as Nurse Kanagawa came at him with the syringe. He jerked at the chain on the collar around his neck. "Get this off me! Let me go!"

"Momo, you have to go with them," she said patiently, moving toward him again.

"Should we leave his carrier here and pick him up at a later time?" The man asked.

Zoro narrowed his good eye, getting distracted. "Don't leave anything! I'm not going _anywhere_ with-!" It was then that he felt a prick not unlike that of a pin, in the muscle of his buttocks. Almost immediately, his felt his muscles involuntarily relax, and his resistance began to wane.

A betrayed look graced Zoro's features as Nurse Kanagawa helped the couple get him into his carrier. "I'm really sorry, but this is for the best..." She said as she closed it up, and sent him on his way.


	4. New Life

A drowsy eye opened, his vision slowly clearing with each blink. Knowing by now how the drugs affected him, he carefully sat up holding his head until the dizziness subsided. He was getting pretty tired of being sedated just because he was being uncooperative. It wasn't as if he _wanted_ to be here!

Looking around him, he noted that he was still a prisoner, albeit a prisoner in a different cage in a lavish home. Everything around him from his vantage point in the cage was clean and spotless. Through the gold-plated bars in front of him, he could see family photos on the wall going up along an elegant cream and chocolate staircase. A little to his right he spotted a large, plush cream-colored sofa with delicate gold and crystal endtables, a matching coffee table, and an armchair, all of which looked as if they'd been bought from a high-end shop just today.

There were cream and gold lamps on the coffee tables, along with some vermillion, tangerine, and amber flowers in small pots. From what he could see, there were very little in the way of knick-knacks on the tables other than a soundly sleeping den den mushi.

An ornate area rug lay beneath the sofa and coffee table, and the walls were painted a deep chocolate brown with golden trim, which made the room feel cozy to Zoro.

Turning his attention to the inside of his cage, which had the same color scheme as the rest of the room, he realized he was sitting on the softest, cushiest, plushest padding he'd ever sat on. He seemed to sink down into it. He was damn sure he couldn't walk on it. There were throw pillows scattered all about the cage, and a thick, plush blanket crumpled in the corner where he'd left it. They apparently assumed he wanted toys to play with, as there were also a few of those scattered around, one of which looked to be some kind of beachball. He ignored these, as toys were not his thing.

There was a mirror on one of the cage walls and Zoro moved over to look into it. He noted that he appeared as tired as he felt. He also still had a chain and collar locked around his neck, but this time the collar was golden with a little white frilled, pink heart dangling from it. A small bell hung from the heart, which jingled whenever he moved. The ring for the chain was positioned in back of the collar, with the chain being attached to the ceiling of the cage. "Momo" was inscribed on the heart with an exquisite lighter pink cursive script.

Not wanting to have to live with such a girlie collar, he grabbed it, trying to rid himself of it. If he could free himself of the collar, then that was half the battle won already. Unfortunately, after several long minutes, he was no closer to being rid of it than he was before he started. It looked like he was stuck with it for now.

Just then, he heard a noise and peeked through the bars of his cage. What he saw made his blood boil. A large brown and white long-haired dog walked out of the kitchen that was located to the left of the cage, looking as if it had just woken from a nap itself.

Why was _he_ in a cage and not the dog??

\--------------------

Earlier that day, Franky had recalled that Robin had said something about the hybrids not being considered human, and he'd had the great idea of checking the veterinarian offices.

Their searching netted them zip, until...

"We're trying to find our nakama! His name is Zoro, he's this tall," Luffy held his hand slightly above his head to indicate Zoro's height. "He's got green hair and pink wings! Is he here?"

"I just got here a few minutes ago," the receptionist said. "But we did have a hybrid by that description brought in... yesterday... I think it was? He was treated for his injuries, but he may have been sold already. Let me check for you. Wait here."

While it was only a few minutes, to Luffy, the wait seemed eternal. When she came back, the look on her face told Luffy and the others what they needed to know. Zoro _had_ been sold, and was probably on his way to only-god-knew-where.

"I'm sorry, that particular hybrid has already been sold. If you'd like, I can point you to somewhere where you'd be able to purchase another-"

"I don't _want_ another one!" Luffy interrupted, balling his hands into fists, and slamming them on the counter. "I want Zoro! He's our nakama!"

Nami stepped between Luffy and the receptionist's desk. "Sorry about this, but Zoro's our nakama, and we really need to get him back. Can you at least tell us to whom he was sold?"

"Sorry, that's classified. Once they're sold, we're not allowed to give out that information," she said.

"But he's important to me!" Luffy said, unaware that he was shouting.

"He's important to all of us," Nami calmly told the receptionist. She pulled out a thick stack of beri. "Are you _sure_ you don't have _any_ information you can give us?"

The woman looked hungrily at the bills, swallowing hard. Part of her wanted to tell the orange-haired girl exactly where their nakama was, but her desire to stay out of prison won out. "I-I can't take that... I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Luffy narrowed his eyes, giving the woman a sidelong glance before saying, "Let's go. We'll find Zoro if we have to destroy the whole island to do it."

\--------------------

'Stupid dog,' Zoro thought as he tried to break free of the cage. The dog just sat there, wagging its tail, watching him struggle to free himself. The constant jingling of the bell on his collar only served to piss him off.

After several minutes, Zoro stopped struggling, sat seiza style, placing his hands on his knees, and just glared at the dog. A few minutes later, the dog came over to the cage, lifted his paw, and scratched on one of the bars. Zoro sighed, his anger melting into mere frustration again. "You want me to come out? I _wanna_ get out. Locked up in here good though..." Reaching through the bars, he scratched the dog on the head. "You don't happen to know where the keys to this thing are, do you?" The dog tilted its head, whining. "What about the keys to this damnable collar?" Zoro tugged at it. "It's a little snug." He hated that collar, not least for being what he thought of as girlie. It seemed more appropriate for a kitten. Beginning to like the dog, he began to scratch it under the chin.

Hearing another noise coming from the kitchen, the dog licked his hand before running off into that room. Zoro pressed his face to the bars trying to see what was going on, but he couldn't see into the kitchen very well from where he was. He heard cheerful voices that sounded as if they were talking to the dog. His chain clinked quietly as he changed position to try to get a better view.

"What's that sound?" He heard a voice ask.

"There's an early birthday present for you in the den!" Zoro heard a woman's voice reply. He then heard a different jingling sound that sounded like keys. "He's got his own cage and everything he needs! Go in and look!"

The voice, which sounded like that of a teenaged girl then said, "Omigod, is it a hybrid? Please let it be a hybrid!"

Zoro heard footsteps coming toward the den where he was. He moved to the center of the cage as a girl with honey-colored hair entered.

"It _is_ a hybrid! And he has pink wings!" The girl exclaimed, coming over to the cage, reaching in. Zoro stayed out of her reach. She was about to use the keys to open it when her mother spoke again.

"He's a new hybrid, and not used to being caged. Let him get used to it first," the mother said.

"No!" Zoro spoke up. "Let me out!" Unable to stand properly on the padding, he crawled over to the girl trying to grab the keys from her hand which she quickly yanked out of his reach.

"His name is Momo, and he's kind of feisty. I don't think he'll bite, but be careful anyway," her mother told her, which made Zoro angry all over again. As she walked from the den up the stairs, she said over her shoulder, "Enjoy your gift!"

When her mother was gone, the girl put the keys to the cage down on the coffee table, and approached her new pet, who'd by now calmed down some. There was still that look of frustration on his face though. "Your name isn't really Momo, is it?"

Gazing away from her, leaning back against the bars, and putting his arms around his legs, Zoro simply shook his head.

"What's your real name?" She asked with no trace of malice on her face or in her voice.

Zoro sighed, he may as well tell her. What else did he have to lose? "Roronoa Zoro, and I'm a pirate... Was."

"I _knew_ you looked familiar!" She said quietly so as not to alert her mother upstairs. She glanced down at his ankles not covered by the long shorts he was wearing. She glanced back up at his scarred eye, wanting to touch it, but holding back out of respect for him. "So you're a pirate, that explains the scars."

Zoro turned to the girl, "So now that you know my name, what's yours?"

"My name? It's Emily. Emmi for short," the girl stated. "I hope living with us won't be too hard on you. My Mom, Dad, and Kid Brother will most likely treat you like a pet and not a human. I'll see what I can do to make them see otherwise, so try not to let it bother you too much."

"I suppose you can't just set me free so I can go home?" He asked hopefully.

"You're my birthday present," Emmi said. "They'll think I'm ungrateful if I set you free. Besides, you'll only be captured again. Now that you're a hybrid, and hybrids are our island's national treasures, they won't just let you leave."

"So I've been told." Zoro fingered the collar around his neck. It was snug but not really too uncomfortable.

"My Mom picked that out," she said, noting how close fitting it was. "Sorry..."

"It's okay. I could do without the bell though," he said, growing tired of hearing it tinkle whenever he moved his head.

"Don't worry. I'll get you another collar soon," she said knowing how girlie his current one was. "Something more manly."

He wanted to tell her that he didn't want to wear a collar at all, but he was tired, and needed a nap. He yawned, stretching his arms over his head.

"I'm gonna leave you alone so you can get some sleep. See you after your nap, Zoro!"

\--------------------

"You finally got that hybrid you wanted," Zoro heard a boy's voice say as he awoke from a long nap. He kept his eye closed and his breathing even as he listened to the ensuing conversation. "His eye scar looks so cool, and so does his hair. When you get tired of him, can I have him? You can have Fletcher in exchange."

"I'm not _gonna_ get tired of Momo, and I don't want your dog!" Zoro heard Emmi say.

"But you like Fletcher though," the boy said.

He could hear the sigh from Emmi, and the obvious eye roll was nearly audible as well. "I do, but Momo has three of my favorite colors, there's no way I'm gonna give him away! Anyway, be quiet! You'll wake him up, and he's had a rough day."

"Maybe Mom will get _me_ a hybrid for _my_ birthday," the boy said.

Emmi's voice again. "We don't _need_ more than one!"

"Why do you get to have one?" The boy asked, getting loudly indignant.

Zoro decided then that now was the time to "wake up" from his nap. As he moved his hand, Emmi hissed, "See? You're waking him up!"

"No, I'm not! _You_ are!" The boy said as Zoro slowly opened his good eye. He rolled onto his side, and slowly sat up, yawning hugely.

The blond-haired boy, who looked to be around eleven years of age, reached through the bars, into the cage, grabbing one of Zoro's wings. "Is your name Momo because your wings are pink?"

Zoro was thankful that his wings, unlike normal moth wings, were durable and strong, because the boy was pulling on the one in his hand hard enough to hurt had he been a normal man. "Oi, oi! Don't pull on me! I'm not a rope!"

"Don't you _dare_ hurt him, Josiah!" Emmi shouted, reaching in and slapping the boy's hand off Zoro's wing.

"Ow! What's your problem?? I was just playing with him!" The boy angrily shouted, rubbing his hand.

"Don't just grab his wings like that!" She turned to Zoro. "Are you okay, Momo?"

"Yeah," he said as he scooted backwards, out of the boy's reach. He glanced to his left to see a hefty container, about the size of a gallon jug, filled with a clear liquid. The strawlike recepticle beneath it made it look like a glass with a straw turned upside-down. It hung on the inside cage wall near the door. He motioned to it. "Sugar water, or normal water?"

"Sugar water, so it's like nectar," she informed him.

He folded his arms in a similar fashion to the way he was sitting. "I'd rather have sake."

Josiah nearly lost it laughing, as she continued. "I can't give you any sake. Wanna try some of the sugar water?"

"I wanna get out of this cage and go back to my nakama," Zoro retorted flatly. "Just... let me out, okay?"

"No!" Josiah yelled. "You're ours now! We're not gonna let you go!"

Zoro turned in the boy's direction, narrowing his good eye. "Shut up! Who asked _you_?"

The boy had the nerve to look offended, as if he were better than Zoro. "You can't talk to me that way! Stupid moth!"

Emmi yelled, "Mom! Josiah is bothering Momo!"

"Josiah? Come here please, and leave Emmi alone with her pet," the woman said from the kitchen.

The boy took a last look at Zoro, shouting, "Stupid!"

"Go _away_!" Emmi said. Then when the boy was gone, she turned back to Zoro, who looked tired all over again. "I'm really sorry, he's not always like that. I guess he's just jealous that he didn't get a hybrid for his birthday."

"How old are you anyway?" Zoro asked, stretching his arms out of boredom.

"Seventeen," she said. "Well, I will be in a few days. You were an early birthday gift."

Zoro sighed, "I shouldn't have to live in a cage. If I have to be a pet, can't I be one without it?"

"Not really. Because hybrids can fly, and flying makes it easier for you to escape if you get loose. I know how you feel though. I wouldn't want to be caged either. Anyway, it's dinnertime now, I'll bring you something in a few minutes, okay?"

\--------------------

Dinner had actually been delicious, not quite on par with Sanji's food, but it was still really good. Having nothing else to drink with his meal, he'd had no choice but to sip the sugar water, finding it oddly enjoyable. Whether or not that was due to his being a moth hybrid, he didn't know, but he'd injested almost a fourth of the container.

Dinner was good, but now he was bored. He longed to be back on the Sunny, toning his muscles, or honing his katana techniques, but instead, he was locked up in a cage in a house with a family he wasn't sure he really liked (except for Emmi and Fletcher). As he lay on his back with his head on his pillow, blanket over his mid-section, he thought about how Luffy must be worrying about him. He just hoped that Luffy and the others wouldn't do to this island what they'd done to Enies Lobby when they'd gone to rescue Robin.

He hated that this time, he was going to have to be the one who was rescued. He hated that word, in reference to himself.

Through the bars, he watched the family go about their lives in the den as if he weren't there. He noted that the boy was very Sanji-like in that he liked to bicker with Emmi. A _lot_. From what little he saw, the mother and father obviously loved and cared for one another; being affectionate with each other almost like him and Luffy. He wondered how they'd feel if _they_ were forced to be apart the way he'd been forcibly separated from Luffy.

He hoped Luffy wasn't worrying about him too much.

\--------------------

"You found anything yet?" Luffy asked Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji as they rifled through the papers in folders in the records department at the vet's office after hours. It had been Nami's idea that they do that, rather than demolish every house on the island until they found Zoro.

"Nothing yet," Chopper said as he perused the folders in front of him. They were all wearing strap-on headlights to see in the dark.

"Same here. They don't seem to have much in the way of organization here," Sanji said as he started on his third paper-filled folder.

"Don't stop until we've found information on Zoro," Luffy said, grabbing another folder to go through.

\--------------------

As soon as the family went to bed, Zoro was up and trying once again to defeat the cage in which he was currently still imprisoned. Fletcher, who stayed to keep Zoro company, let out a low sorrowful whine, as the pink-winged hybrid tried his best to escape.

"Shit," Zoro swore as he pulled himself to a stand with the chain hanging from the cage ceiling. "How the hell'm I gonna get outta here?" He mumbled tiredly. Yanking the chain, trying to pull it down, didn't work either.

"Sleep, Momo!" He heard Emmi's mother yell down to him. He ignored her, continuing to look for ways to escape.

He whispered to the dog, petting him, "Hey Boy, you wanna try to help me get out of here, don't you Boy? Find me the keys, 'kay?"

The dog barked loudly, then whined.

"MOMO, GO TO SLEEP!" The voice yelled louder this time.

"Shh, shh," Zoro whispered to Fletcher. "Go find me the keys."

He watched as the dog moved away from his cage, making its way up the stairs. A few minutes later, a light came on up there, and Fletcher came down with a tired-looking Emmi.

"What's wrong, Zoro?" She asked as she crossed the room to his cage.

"Can't sleep..." he told her tiredly, crawling toward her to grasp the cage bars. "...Wanna get out..." All the effort to escape hurt his injured wrist, and he rubbed at the cast to try to soothe it.

Emmi looked down at what he was doing. "That hurting you? We have some medicine for you if you need it."

"Nah, it'll be okay."

"I know Mom said not to let you out of your cage..." Emmi said quietly. "Buuuuut, I guess it couldn't hurt to at least open the door, right? Get some fresh air, so to speak." She used the keys to open the door, then went to place them on one of the endtables, out of Zoro's reach.

Zoro sat in the doorway of the cage, glad to have some modicum of freedom, even if he was still chained. "Do I have to live like this for the rest of my life?"

"I... don't know," Emmi said as she sat next to him. "I know you were a gift from my parents, but part of me really wants to just let you go free so you can be happy."

"Yeah, I'm not happy here at all," Zoro said sadly. "This is worse than that one time in Water 7..." He trailed off.

"Zoro?" Her face was one of concern. "What happened that one time in Water 7?"

A small smile lit Zoro's face. "This woman, she tried to adopt me as one of her kids. She had like ten others she'd taken in, and she wanted to do the same to me. She meant well, but I was nineteen at the time. Why she wanted to take in a nineteen year old as her kid, I have no idea, but I spent the better part of a day trying to get away from them and back to my nakama. There was a point where they did let me go, only for them to start chasing me again. Of course, I realized later that they were trying to give me back my shirt."

"Your shirt?" She asked confused.

"Yeah, earlier that day, one of the babies peed on my shirt and she-the woman trying to take me in-she had to wash it and iron it," Zoro told her. "She gave me a crop top to wear while she took care of my original shirt. Can you imagine? A crop top!"

Emmi chuckled, "You probably looked nice in it."

"No way! It had a cartoon picture of her on the front along with the words, "Ma Ma"! There was no _WAY_ I was gonna wear such a thing!" He averted his eyes. "'Cept I had no choice since she had my other shirt..."

Emmi burst out laughing before she remembered that there were people in the house trying to sleep. "I wish I could hear more of the stories you have."

Zoro smiled. "If it's stories you like, you'll love Usopp. He tells the most incredible stories!" He paused. "The fact that they're all made-up is completely irrelevant!"

Again, Emmi's laughter filled the air around them. "I wish I could meet your nakama. They sound like fun."

"Yeah, they're a great bunch. I think they would like you and Fletcher too." Zoro yawned, rubbing his eyes with one of his many hands.

"Tired?" She asked, rubbing his back, careful of his wings.

"Yeah," Zoro replied. "Can I sleep on the sofa? Don't wanna go back in the cage..."

"You're still chained inside." Emmi reminded him. She smiled. "C'mon. Let's just get back in the cage, and go to sleep and I'll see about letting you out tomorrow afternoon, okay?"

Zoro sighed. He couldn't remove the collar, so he really had no choice but to go back into the hated cage.

Emmi thought for a second, then went to her room to get a den den radio. Coming back down the stairs, She placed it near Zoro's cage, turning it to a station playing soft soothing music. "This should help you sleep."

She went into the barred structure and pulled the blanket over Zoro. "Goodnight Zoro." And she stayed with him until he fell asleep.

\--------------------

Hours passed and they still had no luck. It was as if they didn't have information on any of the hybrids they'd treated, let alone Zoro. Nami was wondering if maybe the records were housed in another facility, when a male voice called out, "Is anyone there? Please! You gotta help me!"

Nami noted the look on Luffy's face, and stopped him from heading in the direction of the voice. "Don't go in there," she hissed, "It could be a trap."

"But how will we know if we don't go in there?" Luffy asked; arm stretching as he walked out of the records room.

"Nami's right, Luffy, we should just continue to look for Zoro's records," Usopp said, joining Nami in trying to keep him back.

"I'm strong. If it _is_ a trap, I'll kick his ass!" Luffy said from out in the hall.

Sanji, Nami, and Usopp decided to follow him, if only to keep him out of too much more trouble.

"Please help me!" The voice sounded scared, but hopeful at the same time. Luffy followed it to a dimly lit white room with tables, a sink, and other equipment in it. His eyes immediately locked onto a long-haired male hybrid with pale yellow and peach colored wings standing in a large cage-like cell.

"It's another hybrid!" Luffy exclaimed quietly as the others filed in. Speaking to the man in the cell as he walked toward him, he said, "What's your name?"

"Katsuya... I'm the resident hybrid." The man told them. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he looked away.

"What do you mean, "resident"?" Usopp asked stepping closer.

"I live here. In this cell," he said, having trouble meeting their gazes. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, we're from East Blue." They didn't miss the way Katsuya's eyes lit up at the mention of East Blue. "We're looking for, Zoro, our nakama." Luffy stated.

"You must be Luffy, then! Zoro could only think of getting back to you. Tried his best to get out of here too," he told Luffy. "You're lucky, to have such a loyal nakama."

"He's actually my boyfriend," Luffy said. While it warmed Luffy's heart to think of Zoro trying his best to get back to him, it made him angry that the government officials had forcefully separated them in the first place.

"I see. I wish my girlfriend had that kind of love for me. I only get to see her every few months," Katsuya told them sadly. "We have a son together, but I still only see them every once in a while."

"Every few months?? How long have you been here?" Sanji asked.

"About ten years..." Katsuya was ashamed to say. At the looks of horror from the people outside his cell, he continued, "Anyway, can you set me free? I need to get out of here. Please." As Luffy stepped toward him, he said, "Careful, this cell is made of sea stone."

"Shit. I'll do it then," Sanji said, about to light up, but deciding against it. "Where do they keep your keys?"

Katsuya could hardly contain his excitement, and he stumbled over his words. "O-On the door! On th-the wall _near_ the door! The one you came through!"

While Sanji went to get the keys, Luffy observed the collar the man wore. "They keep you collared too?"

"Yes... I've worn it for so long, I don't even remember what it feels like _not_ to wear one." Katsuya ran his hand over it.

"We're gonna get you out of there, right now," Sanji said as he brought back the keys to the cell and collar.

\--------------------

Katsuya massaged his freed neck as the open collar clinked loudly to the floor. "Thank you so much! They'll eventually capture me again, but for now, I'm gonna enjoy my freedom! I'm so grateful to you!"

"What do you mean "they'll capture you again"?" Nami asked, as Katsuya stepped out of the cell a free man for the first time in years.

"Hybrids are kept as beautiful pets here," he explained. "Once we become a hybrid, we lose our humanity in the eyes of others. What we want no longer matters."

"That's horrible!"

"It is, but that's the way things are here."

Luffy asked, "Do you have any information as to where Zoro was taken?"

"No, sorry. They don't tell me anything," Katsuya said. "Plus, he was taken so early that morning, that by the time I woke up that day, he was already gone."

"Damn," Luffy said as he put his hand to his chin. They were no closer to finding Zoro than they were when they'd started going through the folders. "Is there another place that they have the files on the hybrids?"

"Yeah, they don't keep them all here, though you'd think they would. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure where they keep them. Living here for the last ten years... there are so many things I _don't_ know."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Nami told him. "You're free now. Go out there and make the most of what freedom you have. Catch up on life."

"I will. Thank you all again, so much! I'll never forget what you've done for me!" Katsuya said just before he left the room, flexing his beautiful wings.

"He was a nice guy," Usopp said as they closed the door to the cell, taking the keys with them so that the cells couldn't be easily opened again.


	5. Heartbroken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't been a teenager for a while, and I had no friends when I was a teenager, so I hope I wrote them okay.
> 
> Also:
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

Zoro awoke the next morning to the sounds of people getting ready for work and school. He slowly sat up, stretching and yawning, letting the blanket fall loosely around him. Stretching open his folded wings, he shook them out, running a hand over them.

' _Another day in this little fucking slice of paradise_ ,' he thought sarcastically as he scratched at the scar beneath his shirt. He knew he was going to be free again, it was just a question of when. He knew in his heart that Luffy was trying his best to get to him, but also knew that it was going to take time.

Emmi spotted him awake, and smiling, she padded over to him. "Hi, Zoro!" She whispered. "How is your wrist feeling?" She asked, remembering that it was hurting him the night before.

"Not too bad," he said, running his fingers over the cast. "I just wish it would heal already."

She reached into the cage, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I know what you mean. They tell you six weeks, but it seems like forever."

He wanted to ask her when she'd be home to let him out, but he didn't want to sound desperate.

Emmi noticed the look on his face. He didn't want to be alone. "Don't worry. It's 7:30 now. I'll be back around three. I'll see you then, and maybe I can let you out. Oh yeah, I'll probably be the one coming by around noon to give you your lunch, so just a heads-up. Bye Zoro!"

After Zoro had his breakfast, it wasn't long before everyone left, and Zoro was alone with the dog. Fletcher whined, sticking his nose into Zoro's cage. Sighing, Zoro pet him on his head. The dog scratched on the cage bars, trying to get Zoro to come out.

Zoro reached up, rattling the locked cage door. "Tell you what. Get me some keys, _any_ keys, so I can get out of this cage, then I'll play with you."

The dog whined again, this time pawing at Zoro's arm.

"I don't get it," he told the dog as he scratched him behind the ears. "We have these beautiful, functional wings... And instead of letting us fly free, they lock us up in cages! I just don't get it."

Fletcher barked as if he agreed with what Zoro was saying.

"Lucky dog," Zoro said as the dog licked his hand. "You get to roam free while I'm stuck in here. Hopefully Luffy will be coming soon to get me outta here." The dog looked him sadly in the eye, as if he knew what Zoro was going through. "Aww, don't look so sad, Fletch. You didn't put me in here."

Zoro gazed longingly at the sleeping den den mushi on the endtable near the sofa. If he could just reach it, he'd be out of here in mere minutes. Then he had an idea. Grasping the bars of his cage and pressing his face against them, he excitedly said, "Fletcher! Fletcher, see the den den mushi?" He pointed to it. "Bring me the den den mushi, Boy! Go on! Go get it!"

The dog went over to the sofa walking around it, no comprehension of what Zoro wanted.

"See the den den mushi?" He repeated, pausing as the dog walked to the coffee table. "No, Fletcher, the den den mushi!" The dog began to walk back toward him. Without the snail phone. "No, no! The den den... mushi..." He said as the dog sat by his cage again. He sighed. The dog whined. "It's okay Boy, you did your best."

\--------------------

Emmi unlocked the door leading into the kitchen, removing her shoes and putting down her things before walking through it to the den where Zoro's cage was. The sight that met her eyes made her smile.

Zoro and the Fletcher were curled up next to each other, asleep, with only the bars of the cage separating them. Fletcher lifted his head as she approached, appearing to smile happily. "Hey Boy! Have you been looking after Zoro for me?"

She gazed into the cage, noting that Zoro twitched every so often in his sleep, as if something were troubling him. Hesitantly reaching in, she massaged his scalp to calm him. After a moment, he smiled, muttering, "...Feels good, Luffy..."

Emmi recognized that name too. Monkey D. Luffy was a pretty notorious pirate. Was he Zoro's captain? Now that she thought about it, with what Zoro had just said, they probably had a special relationship. She continued to massage his scalp to see if he'd utter anything else.

"...Love you... Luffy..."

Feeling like she was intruding on a private moment even though he was dreaming, she slowly removed her hand, and went to make Zoro his lunch.

\--------------------

When Zoro awoke, there was a tray next to him with two individually wrapped sandwiches and a small bowl of fruit that consisted of mangos, pineapples, kiwis, and strawberries. There was a note on the tray. It read:

_Hi,_

_You were sleeping so peacefully, that I didn't want to wake you up. Here is your lunch: two ham and cheese sandwiches and fruit salad. I'm going to be late getting home, but when I do, I'll take you outside for a while. Hope you have a good rest of the day!_

_Emmi_

Zoro sighed, wondering just how late she was going to be. He moved to a corner of the cage and pulled up the padding, hoping that maybe he could get out that way. Unfortunately, it was a very _secure_ prison. The floor of the cage was barred like the rest. Putting it down again, he couldn't fathom how Katsuya could bear to remain locked up for so many years, even if he did find things to laugh about. Zoro had been locked up for less than ten _days_ , and he was about to go insane! It wouldn't have been so bad if Luffy were here, but he was all alone; no one to talk to except the dog. The dog was a good listening ear, but he needed more human contact.

He needed his nakama.

He hadn't realized how much he'd needed his nakama until he was locked up all alone in a seastone cage with no way to escape.

Zoro slowly unwrapped one of the sandwiches, biting into it. It tasted nice with honey ham, slices of aged provolone, and just the right amount of mayo and mustard. The delicate wheat bread was soft and fresh too. He sighed. If he couldn't get out of the cage, he wouldn't be able to get back to Luffy, and that thought made his heart break.

Finishing the sandwich, he started on the second one. He only ate half, feeding Fletcher the rest. The fruit salad tasted delicious, but even that wasn't enough to quell his heartache.

"Help me, Fletch," he pleaded to the dog. "Help me get free."

The dog whined, then barked, feeling Zoro's sadness but not knowing what was causing it, nor how to ease it. Then suddenly, the dog turned and raced up the stairs. Zoro hoped the dog understood, and was running upstairs to find the keys to the collar and cage. His hopes were dashed though, when the dog soon returned with a dirty, and well worn ball in his mouth. He put it down in front of Zoro's cage.

At first, Zoro thought this odd, that the dog would bring him a ball, and not the keys he so desperately needed. Then he realized that the dog understood how he felt, and was trying to cheer him up the best way he knew how. Though it didn't really help, Zoro reached through the bars, petting the dog's head, praising him, trying to feel happy that the dog was doing what he understood might help him. "Thank you, Boy!" He picked up the slimy, slick-with-saliva ball in his hand. "Wanna play? Wanna play with the ball?"

The dog barked happily, bouncing around in anticipation.

Zoro stuck his hand through the bars, throwing the ball in a way that wouldn't knock over any knick knacks in the house. The dog went immediately after the ball, retrieving it, and bringing it back to his green-haired, pink-winged friend. "Good boy!" Zoro said smiling, almost able to ignore the fact that he was currently lockd in a cage.

This went on for a while, until Fletcher grew tired and failed to retrieve the ball. "You're a great dog," Zoro said, scratching the dog on his neck, noting that he too wore a collar under all that long, thick, silky fur.

\--------------------

Zoro was sitting with his arms around his knees in a corner of his cage when Josiah came home. Their eyes met briefly, then Zoro sharply turned his head, trying to to ignore the boy.

"Why are you still sulking?" The boy asked haughtily. "You've got a good home now! It's not like where you were living before was any better than our house."

"Leave me alone," Zoro said, trying not to let the boy ruffle his feathers.

"The nakama you always talk about are so stupid," he continued, walking over to the cage and standing in front of it. "What's so special about them anyway?"

Zoro turned slowly to face the boy. He unclasped his hands, slowly dropping them down to his sides. "I'm only warning you once. Don't talk about my nakama." The faces of his nakama flashed through his head as he thought of them each, one by one. Sure, the shitty cook annoyed him at times, but he'd be _damned_ if anyone else was going to talk badly about him.

" _You're_ stupid too, for wanting to go back. If they had any sort of intelligence, they wouldn't have let you go so easily in the first place. We're not going to let you go. We bought you fair and square, and you belong to us now! Forget your stupid nakama! I'm sure they're trash anyw-"

Zoro was at the front of the cage so fast, that the boy had barely enough time to move out of his reach. "DON'T TALK ABOUT MY NAKAMA, YOU BRAT!" He roared as he clutched the bars of the cage hard enough to draw blood. One arm was reaching through the bars, straining to get at the boy who was just centimeters out of reach.

Josiah's eyes had gone as wide as saucers. There was no telling what Momo would've done had he caught him. The boy knew of only one thing to do.

"Mooooom!"

Zoro quickly scooted to the back of the cage, his adrenaline still pumping through his veins.

The mother rushed in just then, looking worried at her son's terrified scream. "What is it, Josiah?"

"Momo tried to attack me!" He said, pointing fearfully at the pink-winged hybrid. There were tears in his eyes. "I was just talking to him, and he tried to attack me!"

She hugged her son in an effort to comfort him. "He tried to attack you?"

"Yes! If I hadn't stepped out of the way in time-Oh Mom!" Josiah cried.

As she hugged her son, she glared over at Momo. "Bad Momo, trying to attack kids!"

"But I didn't-!" Zoro tried to defend himself, but was interrupted.

"Just stay in your cage and leave Josiah alone!"

Zoro said nothing, flashing a glare in the boy's direction, which turned into a death glare when the boy grinned at him slyly when his mother wasn't looking. It made him angry enough to grit his teeth.

He'd been told to stay in his cage. Being already locked inside, what else could he do?

\--------------------

About an hour later, Emmi came home with a few friends. Leaving them in the kitchen for a few minutes to check on Zoro, she found him lying under his blanket curled up in a corner of the cage. Her face immediately became one of concern. "Zoro? Are you okay?"

He shook his head against his pillow.

She paused, thinking for a moment. Then, "Did Josiah do something to upset you?"

It was small, but there was a noticable flinch in Zoro's demeanor.

So that was it. Her little brother had antagonized Zoro... _again_. "Stay put, Zoro. I'll handle this. Oh yeah, my friends are here. They're nice girls, so they won't bother you much. I'll be back down in a little while," she said, going into the kitchen for a second, then running up the stairs.

A few minutes later four teenaged girls he'd never seen before, came in from the kitchen. Spotting him in his cage, they came over to him.

"You really do have pink wings!" One of the girls said, tucking a tendril of bright blue hair behind her ear. The rest of her hair brushed her shoulders.

"Yeah, pink is really rare for hybrid wings," Another of the girls said. Her long hair was a maroon color, and it was pulled up into twintails. She introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Belinda. Should we call you Momo or Zoro?"

"Zoro," he said, curling further into his blanket.

The third girl, with hair a shade of green darker and brighter than his own, spoke up then. "My name is Stacie. Are you feeling sick?"

Zoro sighed. "... Yeah... Of that brat." He surreptitiously grit his teeth.

"You mean Josiah?" The fourth girl, who's hair color reminded him of Duval's, asked. "Yeah, he can be a jerk sometimes. I'm Gabrielle, by the way. Good to meet you, Zoro!"

"Same," Zoro said tiredly. He wanted so badly to get out of this cage and just go home.

"I'm Melanie!" The blue haired girl told him. "Don't worry. While we're here, we won't let Josiah bother you. So what happened to your eye?" She asked as Zoro pushed the blanket off of himself and sat up.

"Lost it while I was sword training," he said, not wanting to go into details. He stretched his arms in the air, arching backward, just as Emmi came down the stairs, keys in hand. She went out the back door, fetching another chain and trailing it indoors. Opening the cage and attaching the outside chain to his collar, she led him outdoors.

\--------------------

The sun outside was so bright, it hurt his eye, and he had to blink a few times to adjust his vision. Out in the backyard a ways, on his left, there was a nicely sized garden with various vegetables and fruits growing in it, and on his right was a small orchard of fruit trees. A path split the two halves of the yard. Further out, beyond the garden and fruit trees, there was a covered pool waiting to be uncovered and played in.

As he stepped from the cement onto the grass, the soft green blades felt good to his bare feet. His eyes followed the length of chain from his collar, all the way to where it attached to the house, near the foundation.

"Go on, Zoro." He heard Emmi say behind him. "The chain is long, so you can fly a little ways before you reach the end." Before anything else could be said, Zoro took a deep breath, and unfolding his soft-pink wings, he took off into the air.

"His flight is so beautiful!" Melanie said as she and the othe girls watched Zoro take to the air. "I wish I had a hybrid."

"Our family never lets ours out of her cage." Gabrielle told them. "She's so miserable, but they say it's too much trouble to get her back in. To them, it's better to just keep her locked up."

Stacie shrugged, tucking hair behind her ear. "She might be trouble to get back in because she's never let out of her cage. Dogs are the same way. If you afford them some freedom sometimes, they won't feel deprived and will be easier to handle."

"We let ours out from time to time, and he's really cooperative when it's time to go back in." Belinda put in.

Emmi piped up. "That's because your family has had him for so long, and he's trained really well. We just got Zoro though, and he hates his cage. By the looks of it, it'll be awhile before he's used to it."

\--------------------

The breeze was warm that afternoon as he soared through the air, testing the very boundaries of the chain he was on. Emmi had been right. The chain was long, and he could fly high enough to see the backyards of residences several houses away. After a while though, the length and weight of the chain presented their own problems, and he was forced to land. He chose the roof of the house to perch upon, sitting down on the rough material with his arms around his knees.

His heart ached to see Luffy again, these few days having been the longest he'd been separated from him since the time the crew had been separated for two years. He couldn't imagine having to live the rest of his life without Luffy. Sighing, he lie down on the slanted roof, with his hands behind his head.

\--------------------

Chopper was up on the lawn deck of the Thousand Sunny, sorting out various medicinal herbs, when the soft, warm breeze brought in just the faintest of familiar scents among all the floral scents. Surprised, he sniffed the air. There it was again! The unmistakable smell of his green-haired nakama and crewmate, Zoro! He dropped what he was holding, running to get Luffy.

"Luffy!" Chopper found Luffy preparing to leave the ship. "Luffy! I just caught a whiff of Zoro!"

Luffy's heart skipped a beat as he thought of being reunited with his boyfriend once more. "Could you tell where it was coming from?"

"Not really," Chopper said as he put a hoof to his chin. "His scent was mixed in with other flowery scents."

They reached the lawn deck again, and Luffy leaned frustratedly against the railing, peering out at an island that was no longer beautiful or fun to him. _Zoro_ , he thought. _Where have they taken you?_

Heartbroken, he took a deep breath, and cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled out at the top of his lungs. " _ZOROOOOO!!!_ "

\--------------------

Zoro was startled awake by the faint sound of Luffy's anguished voice. He quickly sat up, rubbing his good eye, trying to determine the direction from which the voice came. He was still outside, on the roof of the house, but now the time was tending toward evening. He listened again, but the only thing he could hear was birds chirping and the girls talking amongst themselves below.

He fingered the end of the chain that was attached to his collar, testing it to see if it could be removed. After a minute, he yanked at the chain in frustration, finding himself stuck with it.

A gentle tugging on the chain, and he peered over the side of the roof into the backyard. The girls stood there, holding the chain, calling for him to come down. "Come down, Zoro, it's time to eat!"

Zoro didn't want to go inside. Going inside meant he'd have to be caged again. Plus, if he stayed outside, maybe he could hear it if Luffy called out again. "I'm staying out here."

"I'll take you back out again tomorrow when I come home," Emmi called up to him. "Let's go eat dinner, Zoro. I'm sure you're hungry!"

Zoro's stomach growled in response. Still, if he could just hear Luffy's voice once more...

Zoro cursed inwardly as Emmi's father came outside. "Is Momo giving you trouble?" He said as he gazed up at Zoro on the roof of the house.

"No, he's just a little reluctant to come down, is all," Emmi explained as she tugged gently but firmly on the chain again. "Come down, Momo!"

"Get down here, Momo!" The stout, mustached man ordered.

Zoro bristled. He'd been about to come down, until the man ordered him to. Instead, he stood his ground. "No."

"I can handle this, Dad," Emmi told him. "He just needs us to be patient."

Zoro watched as her father went back inside momentarily, then came back with something all too familiar in his hand. It was a filled syringe. "The only thing he needs is to be trained to do what he's told!" And with that, he went to get his ladder.

Zoro really didn't want to be sedated again, so he swung his legs over the edge of the roof so that his feet were dangling, then he jumped, using his wings to guide his way down. But just before his bare feet touched the ground, he soared back up into the air, only stopping when the chain stretched taut. He turned back around, facing the house, but staying as high up in the air as possible. Emmi's father wouldn't be able to get his nasty little sedative up here!

"You can't stay up there forever! You're going to have to come down sometime!" The angered man shouted just before he stormed back inside, and Zoro smirked triumphantly. He had a lot of strength and stamina. He'd be able to stay up in the air for at least another hour. Maybe even longer if he had to.

After a few minutes however, Zoro's mirth was cut short. From around the house came about five men wearing strapped to their backs firearms that looked remarkably like those that had shot him down a few days before. _Shit!_ Zoro swore inwardly. Back then, he'd had freedom on his side, and his katana. But this time, the chain severely limited his movement.

Two of the men grabbed their weapons, aiming them at the green-haired, pink-winged hybrid. Zoro darted around in the air, dodging the long, thin projectiles as best he could. If only he could free himself of the chain. Then they'd _never_ be able to catch him. Not again, anyway.

For a while, he had the upper hand, until one dart caught in the flesh of his shoulder. He quickly yanked it out, hoping that he was quick enough for it to have little effect. Apparently though, the sedatives were obviously designed to take down their targets quickly and efficiently, because the drowsiness hit Zoro like a ton of bricks, and he had to fight it hard to stay up in the air. Fighting the intense drowsiness as he was, screwed with his concentration, and allowed him to get hit with another dart. The men used the chain to rein him in just before he fell into the three other men's grips.


	6. I'm a pirate, and pirates are free!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tenryuubito = Celestial Dragons

The next time he opened his eyes, it was nighttime. Late by the looks of it, and he was back inside his cage, lying on his belly and covered with his blanket. Sitting up slowly so as to let the inevitable dizziness pass, he looked around; his eye adjusting to the darkness. He crawled to the front of his cage, grasping the bars with his three good hands. He had the feeling that he wasn't going to be allowed to leave his cage again for a good long time.

He recalled Katsuya saying something about hybrids having "an unwanted lifetime prison sentence". He knew he wouldn't be spending his life in a cage, because he believed that Luffy would be coming for him any day now. But at the same time, the cage was what stood between him and his ability to get back to Luffy.

His empty stomach rumbled, expressing its displeasure at having not been fed since he awoke around lunchtime. Upstairs, a light flicked on and he was instantly on his guard in case the parents came down, knowing how much they loved to scold him. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he saw that it was only Emmi.

"Hey, Zoro," she greeted softly as she padded down the stairs in bare feet. "I was wondering when you'd wake up."

Zoro grasped the cage bars again. "Let me out of here... Let me go home..." There was way more sadness and desperation lacing his voice than he would have liked.

Part of her wanted to free her pink-winged hybrid. The other part of her realized that if she did this, and he left the island, she'd become a criminal, at least in the eyes of the people here and the local government. Instead of answering his pleas, she changed the subject. "Are you hungry? You missed dinner..."

"I..." He sighed. "Am hungry..."

"I'll go heat up your food," Emmi told him, going into the kitchen to do just that.

When she came back in several minutes later, she set the food tray in Zoro's cage, closing the door back when she was done. She sat on the floor in front of the cage, watching Zoro eat. After a moment, she said hesitantly, "I know you're not gonna like this, but... I'm no longer permitted to let you out of your cage..."

Zoro nearly dropped his spoon. "...What?"

"My parents say you make yoo much trouble for them." Emmi looked on the verge of tears as she spoke quietly. "They say that you have everything you need in your cage, and that you shouldn't even need to get out at all."

"If I'm so much trouble for them, why do they even keep me locked up in here? Make them let me go!" Zoro urged her, grasping the chain, yanking hard at it.

"I can't make my parents do anything." Emmi sighed in a resigned manner. "Besides, it's a criminal offense to let you go. You know that." Zoro would have a bit more freedom in a hybrid zoo, but she didn't think he'd like that idea either.

"I _do_ know that... But... But I didn't become what I am because I _wanted_ to! I didn't know about the fruits and what they do until after I'd eaten it!" He sat back seiza style, folding his arms. "I just want to be normal again."

Emmi could imagine how Zoro felt about his situation. She wouldn't have wanted to live in a cage either. It was the same as prison, only you spent your whole life there with no chance of freedom. And if she had wings, being caged would be so much worse. Wings were meant for flying!

"What are you thinking about?" Zoro asked, wanting to know.

Emmi sighed, pushing her hair back. "It's like a prison, isn't it? But you never get to get out and be free again. And it's even worse when you have wings. Big beautiful wings that never have a chance to fly..."

Zoro thought about how it felt to be airborne and free. The wind rushing beneath his wings, on his face, and in his hair. "It feels so _good_ to fly." Zoro lay back down on his side; wings folded neatly behind him. "I really wanna get out of here. My nakama are waiting for me... Sencho's waiting for me... _Life_... is waiting for me... I don't plan to contentedly live in a cage. I'm a pirate, and pirates are free!"

Even though Emmi had lived on that island for her entire life, she'd always questioned the laws that snatched away freedom from the hybrids, and treated them as animals rather than the humans they'd once been. Even though she felt that way, it still hadn't stopped her from wanting one of her own. "Maybe we can get you a larger cage?"

"Maybe you can let me out of this one?" Zoro asked in the same way she had. "I've never told you before, but my biggest goal and dream in life is to become The World's Greatest Swordsman. I can't do that in a cage."

"I'm sorry," Emmi apologized tiredly. "I just don't know..."

Zoro ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I'm tired... Let's just continue this discussion tomorrow." He covered himself with his blanket, closing his good eye.

Emmi opened the cage door, and removed his dishes. By the time she came back, he was softly snoring. She watched him sleep peacefully until several minutes later, when the twitches began once more...

\--------------------

Zoro sat gazing through the bars of the cage, going through all the scenarios in his mind of things he could have done differently to avoid getting captured that day he'd left the ship to buy katana. Not leaving the ship that day to buy katana was not in his list of options. His upper pair of arms rested on the horizontal crossbar of the cage; his lower pair in his lap.

Except for Josiah, Zoro was in the house alone. With only the boy there with him, he was extremely uncomfortable. Face pressed up against the vertical bars, he narrowed his eye as none other than Josiah himself strolled into the living room where his cage sat. The boy smiled innocently as he stopped in front of it; hands behind his back.

A scowl etched its way onto Zoro's face. The boy was up to no good. Again. "What do you want?" He nearly growled.

The smile turned into a smirk. "Nothing. But _you_ want more than anything to get out of your cage, don't you?"

"You're not gonna let me out, so leave me alone," Zoro spat.

Josiah watched the pink-winged hybrid's reaction as he revealed what he was hiding behind his back. "You sure you wanna talk to me like that?"

Zoro's eye noticably widened as Josiah pulled a familiar set of keys from behind his back. _Zoro's_ keys. Specifically, the keys to his collar, chain, and... cage. He gazed at them hungrily before his eye flicked upward to stare the boy in the face. His eye narrowed again. " _Where did you get those?_ "

"Ohhh, I sort of borrowed them off my sister." He said condescendingly as he twirled the ring on his finger; the keys jingling along with the chain attached to Zoro's collar. "It's not like she needs them. I'm a better owner anyway. She's too lenient with you. She spoils you, and lets you get away with stuff. I'm not like that."

Zoro grit his teeth. "You'd better give me those, or-"

Josiah laughed haughtily. "Or you'll what? _Glare_ me to death?" He held up the keychain, slowly flipping through the three keys on it. After a minute, he detached one key from the ring. "See this key?"

Zoro stopped glaring and gazed again hungrily.

"This is the key to your collar," Josiah told him, holding it out and stepping into Zoro's reach.

Zoro unconsciously brought up a hand to touch the snug collar encircling his neck with his fingers. This was his chance to free himself of that damnable thing. Swallowing hard, his hand shot out through the narrow cage bars, making a desperate grab for the key.

Josiah laughed again as he stepped away from the cage, taking the keys with him. "Stupid! You're not getting my keys!"

"Not yours..." Zoro said, voice low. He was seething with barely controlled anger. He had to stay calm though. If he played his cards right, maybe he could nab the keys and free himself.

"Oh, they'll be mine soon enough. Once Mom and Dad see that I'm more responsible than Emmi, they'll give you to me. You'll be mine to do with as I wish. You're not even human. You can't do anything, you have no rights."

The way the boy was speaking to him, reminded Zoro of the Tenryuubito with their extreme brand of arrogance. "...You won't get away with this!" he said, desperation coloring his voice.

"I won't?" Josiah looked down his nose at the green-haired hybrid. "What can a stupid moth do to me?? Someone like you _deserves_ to be caged. Emmi likes to let you out. Once you're mine, I'll see to it that you _never_ get out. And you can forget about ever seeing your dumb nakama again!"

"Leave my nakama out of this," Zoro growled, voice growing raspy with anger.

The smirk grew more evil. "I'll make sure you _never_ see them again."

Zoro rattled the locked cage door. "Let me out! NOW!" He again made a futile grab for the keys the boy held in his hand. He couldn't bear the thought of not ever seeing his nakama, particularly Luffy, again.

"My, you're _aggressive_!" On the last word, Josiah slapped Zoro's broken wrist hard enough for the hybrid to feel it through his cast. Zoro hissed in pain, drawing the injured limb back.

"Shit-SHIT BRAT!" Zoro roared, straining against the bars to get to any part of the arrogant bastard boy he could reach. If only he had one of his katana.

The boy laughed, which only served to anger him more. At the sound of front door unlocking, the boy stepped away from the cage, turning his head toward the sound. He stuck the keys in his pocket.

As the boy's parents came into the house with groceries, Josiah greeted them smiling brightly, no trace of the evil he'd displayed to Zoro earlier. "Hi Mom! Hi Dad! You're home early!"

"Yes, they were out of those microwaveable snacks you like. They did have your favorite cereal though." He pulled a large box from one of the bags, setting it on the counter. "Did Momo give you any trouble while we were gone?"

Josiah turned, eyeing Zoro with a look that indicated that he was up to no good as usual. After a short pause, he turned back to his father. "Actually..." He smiled brightly again. "He was really _good_ today. Didn't give me _aaaaannyy_ trouble at all. I'll have him well trained in no time!"

"That's good," the man said as he and the boy's mother began to put away the groceries. "You keep this up, we may transfer responsibility of his care to you. Emmi seems to think he's a person with human needs and tries to treat him as such."

Zoro didn't show it, but underneath his seemingly compliant exterior, he was seething with nearly unbridled anger. How dare they talk about him like that? At the boy's next words though, Zoro's head whipped around so fast that it made his neck crack.

"Dad, I've been thinking. Don't you think it would be a good idea to have Momo neutered?"

Ignoring the pain in his neck, Zoro swallowed hard, all the color draining from his face.

Josiah spared a glance at Zoro as he continued. "He's a little rough around the edges. It could help calm his aggression."

"Hmm, that actually sounds like a good plan," the man said, as he considered the idea as well. "He'll become easier to train too. It's Friday evening now, but I could make an appointment on Monday, and we could get it done as early as Wednes-"

"No!" Zoro shouted desperately, rattling the door of his prison. "I won't give you anymore trouble, just let me out!" Neutering him would be worse than the sedatives. At least sedatives were temporary. He began to bang on the cage door with his fists. "Let me out!"

"This is _exactly_ why he needs to be neutered," the father said as he continued to put up groceries, muttering to himself about male hybrids and their aggressive tendencies.

\--------------------

"Josiah!" Emmi yelled, as she came out of her room. "Where are they??"

Josiah tried to look as innocent as possible. "Whatever do you mean, Emmi? Where are what?"

Emmi poked the boy's chest. "I _know_ you have my keys! Give them back!"

"Keys?" He said, feigning ignorance.

"The keys to Momo's cage, collar, and chain?" She said, exasperatedly rolling her eyes.

"I have no such thing!" He said, trying to walk past her.

Hearing a faint jingling coming from his pocket, she grabbed him and forced her hand into his pocket.

"Hey! I don't go around digging in _your_ pockets!" He said, as she pulled out her keyring.

"Yeah, but you apparently picked my lock and invaded my room while I wasn't home!" Emmi accused correctly. She looked at the ring, noting that one key was missing. "Where's the key to his collar?"

"I'm never giving it back!" He yelled as he ran past her. "He doesn't need it anyway!"

Emmi chased Josiah as he ran into the bathroom. He held the collar key over the toilet, pausing with his fingers on the flusher. "Stop! Or I'll flush it!"

"You'd better not! It doesn't belong to you!" When Emmi took another step forward, he flushed the commode, dangling the tip of the key from his index finger and thumb. She lunged at the boy intending to wrest the key from his grip before he really did drop it. Unfortunately, the impact of her body ramming his, freed the key from his already precarious grip, and it plunged into the cold, clear, swirling water, where it promptly disappeared from view.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR??" Emmi shrieked, thrusting her hands into the drain of the toilet, feeling for the key.

"I-I didn't mean for it to happen! Why'd you have to tackle me?? I wasn't gonna actually drop it!!" Josiah angrily admitted.

She pulled out her hands and grabbed the front of Josiah's shirt. "Now I'm not gonna be able to remove his collar!"

"EEWWW?? GROSS!!" The boy said looking down at the front of his shirt which was now wet with water from the toilet. "And anyway! It's not like he _needs_ his collar removed!"

"Yes he _does_! What if I wanted to change it to a different one??" Emmi asked as she went to the sink to wash her hands.

"Yeah right! If it were up to you, he'd be completely free to do and go where ever he pleased!"

Emmi realized that Josiah was right. She didn't like the idea of stifling Zoro's freedom any more than she'd want it for herself. As he had said the night before, he was a pirate, and pirates were free.

Josiah noted the way she'd paused when he'd said that. "See? I was right! Oh, and guess what? Dad and I decided that we're gonna have him neutered!" He said with the brightest grin on his face. At Emmi's shocked look, Josiah continued. "He's too aggressive and untrainable, and he's not gonna be bred, so off they come!" He made a cutting motion with his fingers.

"I-I don't believe you..." She said, hoping that the boy was lying.

"Go ask Dad," Josiah said, folding his arms and smirking evily.

With that, Emmi rushed downstairs into the kitchen where their father was about to sit down for a cup of coffee. "Dad! Josiah just told me that you're planning on having Momo neutered! Tell me it's not true!!"

"I'm afraid it is, Emmi. He's just too aggressive. I'm making the appointment on Monday, and we should be able to bring him in on Wednesday."

"But Dad!"

"Why are you so against him being neutered? He asked, confused as to why she wouldn't want a less aggressive pet. "It's not going to hurt him much, and once it's done, he'll be more compliant and easier to train."

Tears streamed down Emmi's pretty face as she listened to her own father talk about Zoro as if he were a dog and not a human with rights. "...Dad... How _could_ you!..."

Distraught, she ran out of the kitchen, pausing as she neared Zoro's cage. He was completely covered in his blanket with only his chain trailing out, and there was a fine tremor shaking the large lump under the blanket. Hoping Zoro wasn't having a breakdown, she dried her eyes as best she could, and went back upstairs to try to figure out what she was going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea if they have microwaves in the One Piece world. They have so much other semi-modern technology in One Piece, that they probably have some form of microwave too


	7. Looking For Zoro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zoro may be a bit OOC in a small part of this chapter

It was early the next morning, and Zoro lay in a corner of his cage again, blanket wrapped around him. He hadn't touched his dinner the night before, and his stomach was rumbling in protest. He paid it no attention though, as he had a lot on his mind.

Yesterday evening, the father caught him trying to escape his cage, and attempted to sedate him. Again! Was that all this family could ever do? He didn't think he could put up with them for another day, let alone the many years he was expected to be living with them as their caged pet.

He sighed. At least Fletcher and Emmi treated him as if he mattered to them. Hearing a sound upstairs, Zoro's eye flicked upward, and he braced himself, watching to see who came down. He relaxed though, as he saw that it was only Emmi herself, dressed in a gown, followed by Fletcher.

Zoro sat up, scurrying to the front of the cage. Gripping one of the bars, he begged, "Please! Let me out of here! I don't want to be neutered! I... can't be neutered! Please, just let me go free!" He hated begging; hated the desperation bleeding into his voice.

Torn between pleasing her parents and doing what she knew in her heart to be right, Emmi sighed heavily. "I'm gonna try to convince my parents not to go through with it. People shouldn't have the right to treat hybrids as they want. They're taking me to lunch for my birthday later. I'll talk to them then."

Zoro's head dropped, his hands sliding down the bars of the cage, coming to a stop at the horizontal crossbar. "Let me go back to my nakama. Please!"

Emmi was about to respond when she heard Josiah coming down the stairs. He was dressed in pajamas, slippers, and a bathrobe. "Is Momo begging you to let him out of his cage again? Honestly, he's always gotta cause so much trouble."

Emmi's brow furrowed as she turned to her brother. "I don't even get a "good morning" before you start complaining about how I treat Momo?"

"Good morning," said the boy flatly.

Emmi pursed her lips. "Good morning to _you_ too. Momo's not begging. And he needs to get out of his cage _sometime_. How would you feel being locked up with no way to free yourself?"

"I'm not a moth hybrid," Josiah stated simply, folding his arms. "So I'm not gonna need a cage."

"What if you were though."

"I'm not gonna become a moth!" The boy's voice raised angrily.

Emmi "Are you sure? You never know what's gonna happen."

As the conversation ensued, Zoro grew more and more angry at Josiah, and frustrated at his inability to convince Emmi that he needed to be set free.

"I know I'm not gonna become a _moth_!" He stepped in front of Momo's cage, just out of the angry hybrid's reach. "At least you get to live in an _indoor_ cage. A lot of hybrids live outdoors. Why can't you just be happy?"

"How the _hell_ can I be happy in a cage, you..." Zoro growled.

"Good thing you're getting neutered next week," Josiah said as he turned to walk into the kitchen for a bowl of cereal.

Emmi turned back to Zoro, to find that he had a white-knuckled death grip on the bars of his prison, as if he could muster enough strength to shatter them and become free once more. Blood trickled from the palms of his three uninjured hands.

"Momo, no!"

Going into the kitchen to wet some paper towels, she came back, prying Zoro's hands from the cage bars, and wiping away the blood. Gazing down at the callouses on the palms of his upper pair of arms, she couldn't help but notice that they really were the hands of an accomplished, expert swordsman. From the looks of them, he'd been honing his craft for many years. Probably since he'd been a young child.

Emmi looked up into his good eye, to see anguish painting his features. She was really at a loss as to how she was going to get Josiah to stop antagonizing Zoro, as well as getting her parents to see that neutering Zoro was not the answer. She knew that Zoro wasn't aggressive just because. It was locking him up in a cage he didn't want to be in and treating him as if what he wanted didn't matter that was making him aggressive. She wondered why the rest of her family couldn't understand that. Sighing deeply, she trekked to the bathroom for bandages.

Coming back, she smeared a clear ointment onto his palms, rubbing it in. Then she gently but firmly wrapped his hands with the bandages. She gazed into his face, noting that the anguish was still there, though it had lessened somewhat. "Feel a littl better?"

Zoro shook his head, once. Emmi recalled the last time Zoro had been this way, but this time, she wasn't allowed to let him out of his cage. She reluctantly reached up and stroked Zoro's hair, massaging his scalp between his antennae. He seemed to relax a little, and let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm gonna go fix you breakfast," Emmi told him quietly, as she gathered the paper towels and bandages in her hand. Standing up, she said, "I'll be back with something nice for you."

\--------------------

After Zoro had had breakfast, which consisted of a fresh fruit and cream smoothie, the family left the house, leaving Zoro alone again with Fletcher.

Zoro's heart hammered in his chest. The mere thought that a vital part of his manhood could be permanently taken away, simply because of one small aspect of his personality they happened to dislike sent cold chills down his spine. This was getting serious. He needed to get out of here, and he needed to get out _now_.

Fletcher whined, sticking his head through the bars, and laying it on Zoro's knee.

"I need to get out of here, Fletch. I'm desperate now," Zoro told him. "Can you help me? ...Please help."

A low whine turned into a sullen bark as Fletcher lifted his head.

"That's right, Boy." He scratched the dog's head. "They're talking about neutering me... _Neutering ME!_ I... I can't let that happen."

Fletcher reached into the cage again, scratching at the plush padding inside.

A sad smile graced Zoro's face briefly, before disappearing again. "I can't get out that way." He looked around at the bars surrounding him. "I can't get out of this cage... What'm I gonna do, Fletch?"

Fletcher lay against Zoro's prison, once again sticking his head through the bars, trying to comfort Zoro.

"I need to get back to Luffy..." Zoro couldn't stop his heartache from seeping into his voice. "Help me get out of here, please... Kuso...I just wanna go home..."

Squinching his eye shut, he moved over to the door of the cage, rattling it as hard as he could, trying his best to maybe jimmy the lock that way.

_"ZOROOOOO!!"_

Zoro's eye snapped open. It had been faint, but he'd heard it. The distinct scream of his beloved Sencho. Unable to leave his cage, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs until they ached, shouting, "LUFFYYYYY!" at the top of his lungs, startling Fletcher. "LUFFY, HELP ME!"

_"ZOROOOOO!! WHERE ARE YOU?"_

Unable to tell if Luffy heard him or not, he yelled, "I'M HERE, LUFFY! HELP ME!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE, PLEASE!!" Crawling around in the cage, trying desperately to find a way out, he continued to call out to his Sencho. " _LUFFY!_ "

\--------------------

Luffy stopped running around long enough to catch his breath. Despite Nami telling him not to destroy any residences in his quest to locate his boyfriend, he was sorely tempted to do so. He wanted- no, needed- to find Zoro. He wouldn't- couldn't- just leave without him. They'd been through so much together, and as much as he loved adventure, Luffy loved Zoro more. He'd search this island until he died of old age, if it took that long for him to find Zoro. He'd search this island as a ghost _after_ he died, if it took that too.

When he caught his breath, he stood up again, taking a deep breath.

"ZOROOOOO!!!"

Where was Zoro?

Luffy couldn't hear Zoro, but in his heart he felt the anguished cries of a lover and nakama, who was locked up only the gods-knew-where on this godforsaken island.

A few people were glaring at him in annoyance, but for the most part, he was ignored; people going about their business in the early morning. He wished that he'd at least brought along Chopper. He could probably tell which home Zoro was imprisoned in.

"Luffyyyyy!" A familiar voice called. It was Chopper's. He whirled, turning toward the little reindeer, who wasn't so little anymore because he'd transformed into Walk Point. Nami was riding on his back with Sanji running beside them. The three slowed and stopped as they got to Luffy.

"We could hear you from the ship! I'm pretty sure Zoro can hear you," Nami said as she dismounted Chopper, who then turned back into Brain Point Mode.

"He _can_ hear me. I can feel it in here," Luffy lay his hand over his heart. "He's screaming my name, on the verge of _tears_ , and Zoro doesn't cry easily."

Sanji took a moment to light up. "Can you feel what he's saying to you?"

"Yeah, he's begging me for help. 'I'm here' and 'Get me out of here' is what he's saying..." Luffy's face returned to the mixture of sadness and desperation it had sported only a few moments before. "But I don't know where " _here_ " is!"

"I wish we could find out where this "here" is." Sanji looked over to Chopper.

"I can't pick up Zoro's scent either." The little reindeer sighed sadly. "He must be locked up indoors somewhere."

"Damnit!" Luffy swore aloud. He imagined the person who'd bought Zoro keeping him locked up in a seastone cage against his will. The more he thought about it, the more his anger grew. "We hafta find him! He can't live in a cage forever! We're pirates, and pirates are free!" He shouted, echoing Zoro's words.

Nami grabbed Luffy by the shoulders. "Calm down for a second. I have an idea."

\--------------------

The bell on his collar jingled noisily as his struggles with it began anew. Despite knowing that it wasn't going to come off without the key, he used all his strength to try to free himself. At least the inhabitants of this island hadn't adopted the custom of utilizing exploding collars as the tenryuubito had done with their slaves on Sabaody. For that, he was thankful.

Anyway, even if he _could_ remove the collar, there was still the damnable, unyielding cage to deal with. The more he thought about his fate, the more constricting the collar felt, as if it were choking him. He swallowed, breathing hard; his mouth suddenly dry. Moving over to the sugar water container, he grabbed the tube and sucked down a few gulps. Feeling a little better, he moved to one of the back corners of his cage, gathering his knees to his chest, trying to assess his situation and figure out what he was going to do.

Luffy had long ago stopped screaming his name. He was beginning to wonder if he'd given up for the day on finding him. He hoped not. The sooner Luffy found him, the sooner he'd be a free man again.

The longer he was forced to stay caged, the more he wished he hadn't eaten the fruit. Nevermind the fact that he hadn't even known what the fruit would do to his body. Unlike a normal moth's, Zoro's wings were strong and durable, not easily torn or cut. He liked having the ability to fly, but not at the cost of his freedom. Besides, what was the point of having functional wings if he wasn't allowed to use them? Were the hybrids just spectacles for their owners to gawk at?

\--------------------

"Good afternoon, Ma'am. We're part of the Hybrid Census Bureau, and we'd like to ask you a few questions about your hybrid if you have one?"

Nami wasn't really comfortable in the dress suit she was wearing, plus, her normally loose hair was gathered into a tight bun behind her head. Luffy on the other hand, in his suit and tie and high gloss shoes, hair in a neat slicked down side-part, looked downright miserable. He'd wanted to complain, but knew that Nami would probably deck him if he said anything. Besides, this was all in an effort to take back their captured nakama, so while he fidgeted every now and again, he did his best to keep quiet and wait.

"You have a separate one for hybrids now?" The woman asked skeptically.

"Yes, Ma'am." Before the woman had more time to think, Nami hoisted her clipboard, poising her pen to write down what the woman told her. "I need the following info: What is the sex, hair and wing colors of your hybrid?"

"Well, I own a female hybrid. Powder blue wings with pale yellow markings. Hair color dark brown."

Damn. That was definitely not a hybrid of Zoro's description. Nami wrote down all the information before looking the woman in the eye again. "Alright, then. We have all the information I- we need. Thank you, Ma'am, for your time."

When the door was closed again, she and Luffy both breathed sighs of relief. But their relief was short-lived as they realized how many hundreds of residences there were on this island. With Chopper, Franky, and Usopp watching and following from a discreet distance, they moved to the next residence. They could only hope that with two groups, Robin and Sanji making up the other one, they could cover more ground in less time.


	8. Operation: Free Zoro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only another chapter or two to go

Zoro's stomach rumbled loudly in want of lunch, but he'd been alone in the house for the past few hours with no signs of anyone coming home to feed him or give him attention. It was late afternoon now from what he could tell, and his patience was wearing really thin.

Fine way to treat a treasured pet!

It wasn't Emmi, however, that he had a beef with. It was the rest of her family (excluding Fletcher). They knew he was locked up, and completely dependent on them for his basic needs. Why were they taking so long to get back? He needed to eat _too_ , you know!

He'd give them a piece of his mind when they did get back, but he still had the neutering thing hanging over his head. Whether Emmi could convince them not to go through with it, he didn't know. He just knew that whatever the outcome of the discussion, he had to get away from here. Except for Emmi and Fletcher- and Emmi's friends- this whole island of people were insane! Treating a human like an animal just because they took on a few animal characteristics.

He reached up, grabbing hold of one of his antennae, and brought it down to eye level. The feather-like, bristly hairs on it were the same color as his wings in alternating stripes. Being really sensitive, it tickled him to touch them. He briefly ran the pad of his calloused thumb over the feathery appendage, before letting go, watching it spring back to it's original position standing erect atop his head.

He crawled over to the corner where he'd left his crumpled blanket. Wrapping himself inside, he lay down and closed his eye.

\--------------------

They weren't even ten houses in when it had been discovered that they weren't really from a "Hybrid Census Bureau". Forced to come up with another plan, they went to a slushy shop in a local shopping mall to regroup and think about what their next move would be.

"Well, it seemed to work for a while," Nami said as she sipped a tangerine slushy in the circular booth the eight of them sat in. Franky was guarding the ship. "Who knew they'd catch on so fast?"

"Yeah, but they did, and we're fast running out of plans. Poor Zoro, I wonder how he's doing?" Usopp said, brow furrowing in worry as he sipped a lemon slushy. "Hey Luffy, what's he doing now?"

Luffy, who was slurping a meat slushy, answered, "He seems to be asleep for now. Which is probably a good thing, what with what happened earlier this morning. Anyway, we need to come up with another plan. Zoro desperately needs our help."

The table fell silent as they each tried and failed to come up with a plan to rescue their sword-wielding nakama. "Anyone got anything yet?" Luffy asked after a while.

"Nothing yet."

Luffy sighed indignantly. "Why _can't_ we just destroy the buildings until we find Zoro? We did it for Robin!"

"Luffy, this isn't Enies Lobby!"

As they sat wracking their brains for good plans, they didn't really notice the group of teenaged girls pass by them on the way to the next booth over...

\--------------------

"His nakama are like his family," Emmi told her friends, as they sat down with their slushies. "He wants to see them again, but my parents refuse to even allow me to let him out of his cage anymore after what happened the other day."

"Don't they realize that he can't stay in his cage forever?" Gabrielle asked. "He'd likely go insane, or at least be miserable all the time, like Hotaru."

"I _want_ to set him free," Emmi sighed. "He's a pirate and a swordsman. He deserves to have a way to realize his dream, and he can't realize his dream locked up in a cage. And the worse part is that the rest of my family want to have him neutered just for being aggressive..."

\--------------------

The conversation at Luffy's booth had gotten really quiet in the past few minutes. Listening to the girls in the other booth next to theirs, had they actually lucked out? Were the girls actually talking about Zoro? They had said a lot of things too particular to Zoro for it to not be him!

\--------------------

"Please! You haven't had him for that long yet, and they're already talking about neutering him?" Mellie asked. "His aggression probably stems from being kept in his cage so much. He was used to being free before, right? That's all it is!"

"Yeah!" Emmi agreed. "Zoro told me once that he was 'a pirate, and pirates are free.'..." Emmi trailed off as a group of eight people (well, six people, a tanuki, and a skeleton) had suddenly gathered around her and her friends, all wide-eyed.

"Did you just say... Zoro?"

\--------------------

"If my Mom, Dad, and Kid Brother are home, and they most likely are by now, they won't let you take back your nakama without a fight," Emmi warned as she led them to her home in an affluent-looking housing area.

Nami wanted to look around at the nice homes, but she and the others were on a mission. Operation: Free Zoro, Luffy had called it.

"If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get!" Luffy slammed his fist into his hand.

Nami cuffed him on the head. "You can't fight her parents and brother! They're just normal humans!"

"Damn. They are home," she said, warning them as they approached the dwelling in question. "Zoro's inside, locked in a sea stone cage. He's wearing a collar attached to a chain which runs to the ceiling of the cage. Those are sea stone too, so he can't remove them." She held out the keychain. "Who among you isn't a devil fruit user?"

Sanji stepped forward, taking the keys from her hand. "I'll do the honors."

\--------------------

"Emmi should be back home in a few hours," the mother said as she spoke into the receiver of the den den mushi. "She's out with some friends from school. Can I have her call you back?"

Zoro was awake and sitting up in a corner of his cage; the corner that was the furthest away from Josiah who was apparently having fun harassing him again.

"I'm glad _I'm_ not some weird, stupid moth!" Josiah sneered.

"I'm the only one who has the right to call him stupid, kid."

Startled enough to nearly jump out of his skin, Josiah whirled around wide-eyed.

"Who are you?? How did you get in here??" The mother asked indignantly.

"I let him in, Mom," Emmi told her as she led the others in. "They're taking their nakama back. He belongs to them, not us."

"He _does_ belong to us! We paid good money for him!" Josiah shouted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sanji making his way over to Zoro's cage. "What are you doing??"

"He wasn't ours or _anyone's_ to buy, Josiah," Emmi's voice took on a tone of annoyance.

Even though Zoro appeared to have everything a pet would need to live inside the cage, it greatly angered Luffy to see his boyfriend locked up within the structure. He grew even hotter with anger seeing the innocuous looking collar around Zoro's neck, and the chain that trailed from it, holding him prisoner within a prison. He wasn't an animal! What right had these people had to treat Zoro this way? Luffy wished more than anything that he could be the one to free him. He walked over to the cage, gazing at his hybrid boyfriend inside. Longing to touch him, but not doing so because of the bars in his way, he swallowed hard before he spoke, being overcome with emotion. "Zoro... Are you okay?"

Zoro grabbed the cage bars in his three good hands. "Yeah... I'm okay... Just... please... let me out of here..."

"I can't touch the cage." Luffy's voice took on a sad tone. "But Sanji's got the keys. He's gonna let you out."

Zoro looked up at Sanji as the blond walked over. "I can't believe you're the one letting me out of here," he quietly said as Sanji was about to insert the key into the lock.

Sanji's hand stopped in midair, dropping to his side. He watched as Zoro's eye grew wide with fear. "You wanna stay in there then? It looks comfy and cozy. You even have toys to play with." Sanji stated as his eyes scanned the inside of the cage.

"Let me out!" Zoro blurted out, crawling over, clutching the bars. He was so desperate for freedom that he didn't care what he had to say. He grit his teeth, grumbling, "...Please..."

Usopp and the others were keeping Josiah and his parents away from the cage while Sanji worked on freeing Zoro.

"That's more like it, Marimo."

After he opened the door to the cage, Sanji removed the chain holding Zoro inside. He noticed the collar with it's shiny, noisy bell. "Cute collar. What are you, a kitten?

"Shut up."

Sanji chuckled quietly. "Anyway, where's the key for it?"

Zoro jerked his thumb at Josiah, who was being held captive by a large popgreen plant. "That idiot flushed it down the toilet the other day."

Josiah shouted, " _You're_ the idiot! Get _back_ in your cage, stupid _moth_!" Again with the air of superiority.

" _My_ cage?" Zoro smirked. "More like _your_ cage now. Usopp?" He motioned with his head towards the cage; Usopp making the popgreen deposit the boy inside.

"You can't do this to me!!" He screamed as Sanji shut the door to the barred structure before the boy could try to get back out. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!" He screeched, turning red in the face.

Zoro smirked at the boy as he remembered all the times he'd demanded to be let out of the cage, only to have the family refuse. Now the boy would know how he'd felt.

The Dad spoke up then. "Wait! You can't put our son in a cage! Human's don't belong in cages-"

"And just because I have wings, I _do_??" Zoro bellowed indignantly, cutting the man off. He glared at the man daring him to reply. "I'm not a canary to keep in your little cage!"

"C'mon, everybody!" Luffy shouted. "Let's just go! We have Zoro back! Let's just leave now!"

"Wait," Zoro said, then he stooped to be at eye level with the dog. Holding the dog's head in his hands, he said, "Thank you Fletcher, for all the times you helped me not feel so sad when I was locked up in that cage. I'll never forget you. I'm finally going back home now. Bye Fletch."

As Fletcher happily licked his face, Zoro realized that this was the first time that he'd been able to interact with the dog without the cage bars in between them.

"Wait a minute!" The indignant father yelled from where he and his wife were being held back by the popgreens. "You're just going to take our hybrid?? We paid a lot of money for him you know!!"

The way they spoke about him made Zoro seethe with hot anger. "I'm _not_ YOURS!!"

"That collar we locked around your neck says otherwise," Emmi's father smugly sneered.

A hand went up to touch the golden seastone collar with it's annoying bell still securely locked around his neck. A collar he might well have to learn to live with.

The man smirked evilly as comprehension dawned on Zoro's face. "That's right. As long as you're wearing that collar, you're ours. We own you. It doesn't matter whether you're with us anymore." His eyes dropped down to the band encircling Zoro right leg; Zoro following his gaze.

"That registration band holds all your information, so you can be returned to us if you're recaptured."

"Th-that still doesn't make me your pet!"

"Whatever you want to believe," Emmi's father told him, confident that the family pet would be rightfully returned to them soon.

"Why can't you just leave me _alone_!" Zoro shouted, desperation coloring his words again.

Luffy lay a hand on Zoro's shoulder. He'd find a way to remove Zoro's collar and band. "Let's just go, Zoro. People like them can't be reasoned with."

"Yeah," Zoro agreed as he tried to calm himself down. "Let's just go."

As they left- Emmi leaving with them- Sanji hung the keychain with the key to the cage on the doorknob.

\--------------------

"How long are those plants gonna hold my parents captive?" Emmi asked as she ran to the ship with the Strawhat Pirates.

"Just until we're safely out of range," Usopp answered. "It'll be a few minutes."

"That's good," she said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Shit!" Zoro swore from up in the air. "We've got company."

The others looked ahead of them, realizing that the governmental officials were surrounding them. They aimed their tranquilizer guns at Zoro.

"Go on ahead, Zoro!" Luffy yelled up to his boyfriend. "We'll catch up to you!"

"What are you _talking_ about?" Zoro asked as he dodged the tranquilizer darts that were being shot at him. "I can't leave you to fight alone! If you're fighting, I wanna fight too!"

"But remember what happened last time?" Luffy called up to Zoro. "And you don't even have your katana!"

"But I-" Zoro started, just before he was hit with no less than four darts at once. Two in the leg, two in his side and arm. "Oh shiiii..." His speech began to slur as he started his descent from his position in the sky.

The governmental officials had moved into position to catch him, when Nami used Thunderbolt Tempo to clear them from that spot. Luffy stretched up his arms to grab Zoro out of the air. Cradling him bridal style, Luffy held a barely conscious Zoro close to his chest as he began to run again.

"...'m zzorry zZencho... Gon' needa take a nab... for... whil..." Zoro slurred before he finally lost consciousness.

"Get him back to the ship, Luffy!" Sanji yelled over the din of officials. "We'll take care of these guys and meet you back there!"

Luffy carefully cradled Zoro's head as he dodged the angered officials on his way back to the ship. He didn't want to fight while carrying Zoro in his arms if he could help it.

It took a while, but Luffy made it back to the place where they'd docked the ship, finding it swarming with the same governmental officials that had taken down Zoro. Franky and Chopper were doing their best to keep them off of the Sunny until their other nakama could get back. Hoisting himself up onto the deck with one hand, he gently handed his boyfriend over to the reindeer doctor, who immediately took him into the infirmary. Hands now free, and standing back to back with Franky, he psyched himself up for a fight.

"Gomu Gomu no GATLING!"

\--------------------

Chopper gently lay Zoro down in the infirmary bed, checking him for any injuries he might have sustained between the residence from where he'd been rescued to when he'd been brought to the Sunny. There were the older healing injuries, which included the cast on his wrist, that he'd gotten a few days before when he'd been captured. But other than the points on his body where he was hit with the tranquilizer darts, and some dressings on his hands covering bloody and bruised palms, he seemed to have no other injuries. At least none that were serious anyway.

Taking a blood sample to see how much of the sedative Zoro had taken in those darts, he was surprised to find that although it was a miniscule amount, the drugs were extremely potent. Having taken four darts, Zoro would probably be unconscious for hours, if not longer.

After finishing his examination, careful of his wings, Chopper turned Zoro onto his side, to make it easier for him to breath, then covered him with a thin hospital blanket. He then went outside to join in the fight to keep his winged nakama out of the hands of the islanders.

\--------------------

"Can you believe the nerve of all those government officials?" Nami asked after they'd all gotten safely aboard the Sunny, courtesy of Luffy's Conquerer's Haki, and were preparing to leave. "'Our hybrid' this, and 'Our hybrid' that. They really don't see hybrids as being human at all. They think it's perfectly okay to own people as pets!"

"Is he gonna be okay?" Emmi, who was still with them, asked as she and Nami headed to the infirmary to see Zoro.

"Yeah, he should be okay," Nami replied. Thinking about what Chopper told them, she continued. "But getting hit with four darts is going to keep him knocked out for a good long while."

"Oh." What happened to Zoro made Emmi feel horrible.

"He'll be fine, really," Nami assured Emmi as she pushed open the infirmary door. "He just needs to sleep it off for however long he needs to. Believe me, he's been through a lot worse."

Emmi went over to Zoro's bedside to stand next to Luffy who was sitting in a chair waiting for him to awaken. After a minute, she spoke. "He really does love you. He's been trying to get back to you ever since they bought him for me for my birthday."

Keeping his eyes on Zoro, Luffy asked. "What made your parents pick him out of the rest of the hybrids they looked at?"

"My favorite colors are pink, lilac, and light green, so he was the perfect combination. Also, pink is an extremely rare color for hybrid wings, so buying him was kind of like being able to acquire an expensive rare jewel."

Zoro was like a rare jewel in Luffy's eyes too, just not in the same way Emmi was talking about.

"I wonder what made him choose the pink leaves anyway?" Luffy pondered aloud.

"From what I hear, after you've eaten the fruit, the tree leaves you're gonna eat are chosen by the fruit for you. You don't choose the color. It's almost as if the color chooses you, so to speak. I'm not really sure he likes his pink wings, but I think they're pretty."

Luffy turned to Emmi, pushing up his hat, grinning. "I think they're pretty too!"

Emmi smiled back, then she said, "Anyway, I guess I should get going. It was nice meeting you and your crew. I wish you well on your adventures!"

Before taking her leave, she stroked a sleeping Zoro's hair. "Goodbye Zoro. Maybe one day we'll meet again."


	9. Momo No More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a description of puking in the first part

When Zoro awoke again, his head was pounding and his stomach was churning so badly, he was afraid to sit up. He'd never felt so horribly sick in all his life and the slow rocking of the ship on the sea wasn't helping matters. He wondered if his sickness had something to do with the sedatives. He'd been shot with four, after all. Gazing up at the clock on the wall, he noted that it was 10:37 pm. So he'd only been out for a few hours. That was good.

Feeling something next to him, he looked down, noticing Luffy dozing in a chair next to the infirmary bed with his head on his arms on the soft padding of the mattress. Zoro lay his hand on Luffy's head, relishing the feeling of his boyfriend's hair between his fingers.

It wasn't long before Luffy began to stir, and despite the fierce churning in his stomach, Zoro smiled. "Hi Sencho."

Luffy's eyes opened sleepily. "Hi Zoro..." He smiled. "You're finally awake."

"Finally?" Zoro asked confused. What did Luffy mean?

"Yeah," Luffy rubbed his eye with one hand. "After you lost consciousness, you slept all that night, and then all day today. Good to see you awake now."

So he'd slept a lot longer than he'd originally thought. At least hopefully they were far, far away from that godforsaken island. "Luffy?"

"Yeah?"

"We're... away from that island... aren't we?"

Luffy smiled. He realized how Zoro must have felt, being locked away from him for so long. "Yeah. _Far_ away. You don't have to see that place or be locked up in a cage ever again."

Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Zoro then squinched his eye shut, trying to ride out the wave of nausea that made him feel as if he needed to throw up his whole stomach, along with whatever contents it may have still held.

Luffy, waking up further, noticed Zoro's pallor was nearly as green as his hair, and he commented on it. "You look sick. Want me to go get Chopper?"

"No..." Zoro put a hand to his still-pounding head. "I just need to rest awhile longer... I'll be fine..."

"He could give you something to settle your stomach, though. And ease your headache."

Zoro shook his head on the pillow, about to refuse again. Hearing the familiar annoying jingle, he reached up to touch the bell on the sea stone collar that still encircled his neck. His brow furrowed with irritation. "Damn... Need to get this off me... Can't Nami pick the lock?"

"She doesn't have the tools to open that kind of lock," Luffy told him. "Also, what's that thing around your ankle? We couldn't even figure out how to get it off of you."

"It's a band with my registration number on it..." Zoro said as he rode out a fresh wave of nausea. "...Apparently they locked them around the legs of hybrids there, probably to keep our info for their records... There's not even a way to unlock it. I think it's meant to be permanent..." A sudden dip in the movement of the ship sent Zoro's stomach churning fiercely enough, that he knew he would no longer be able to hold down its contents. "Oh shit..."

Luffy was on the other side of the room and back with the wastebasket in a flash, just as Zoro's stomach began to empty.

The extreme bitterness of the bile coming up into his mouth from his stomach took him by surprise. He'd never tasted anything so revoltingly nasty. Sharp pain knifed through his empty stomach as it seemed to want to be ejected along with the bile. After what seemed to Zoro like two eternities, the heaving stopped; his head flopping back down onto the pillow.

Luffy wet a washcloth and set about cleaning Zoro's face with it, just as Chopper rushed in. Even though the stench of the bile was almost enough to turn his own stomach, Chopper took over after Luffy finished.

"Chopper, why's he so sick?" Luffy asked, hovering worriedly near the reindeer as he checked on his patient.

"It's the sedatives they shot him with," Chopper clarified. "He'd have few ill effects if he were shot with just one or two, but four is what's making him sick. He was already sensitive to that particular type to begin with. I'll give him something to settle his stomach until the effects wear off," Chopper said as he went to do just that.

"When you get better, let's go fly above the clouds, okay?" Luffy spoke quietly to Zoro.

Zoro gave him a wry smile. "Sure thing."

\--------------------

"Why do they keep hybrids in cages on that island anyway?" Luffy asked, sitting on Zoro's shoulders as they soared above the clouds. He'd wrapped his sash around Zoro's neck to avoid contact with the collar.

Zoro shrugged. "Those people didn't see us as humans anymore once we became hybrids. Besides, having wings made it easier to escape the island, and you know they don't like us to leave."

"But you shoulda been able to go whereever you wanted! They had no right to treat you the way they did!" Luffy nearly shouted.

Zoro glanced at Luffy over his shoulder. "I know, right? But try telling _them_ that! I _begged_ them to let me out of that cage! I was allowed out only once, and even then, I was still on a chain."

"Damn," Luffy swore quietly. Then a thought came to him. "You were locked in a sea stone cage back when we were in Alabasta, and you were so calm then."

"Yeah, but that was only for a few minutes, and you were with me," Zoro admitted.

Resolve filled Luffy's heart. "I'll make sure you're never separated from me ever again."

Hearing this made Zoro feel really good; safe and secure. After a moment, he gave Luffy a soft smile over his shoulder. "Love you, Luffy."

"Love you too, Zoro," Luffy said back, swinging his legs in the gentle breeze.

\--------------------

Sanji could hear the jingling of the bell on Zoro's collar about a minute or two before the green-haired hybrid appeared in the galley. He was looking up at the doorway as Zoro walked in. He noted how snug the collar appeared around Zoro's neck and wondered whether or not it was uncomfortable for him. But then again, aside from a few brief struggles with it when he thought no one was looking, it didn't seem to bother Zoro too much. Maybe he'd resigned himself to the fact that he was going to be stuck with it for a while longer.

"I saw the word "Momo" inscribed on the heart danglie on your collar," Sanji said directly, watching Zoro stiffen the moment the words came out of his mouth. "Is that what they called you?"

Zoro's face colored with embarrassment as he sat at the table. Sanji poured him a pint and slid it into his hands. After a moment, he answered. "Yeah."

"Why?"

"'Cause my wings are pink," Zoro answered, eyes averted, embarrassment painting his features once more. "It started with that damn nurse at the ve-...doctor's office."

Sanji noticed Zoro's near slip of the tongue, but didn't comment on it as Zoro continued.

"That's what _she_ called me. Then when I was sold to that awful family, they continued to call me that. I'm pretty sure they knew my real name, but since I was now their pet, they didn't care."

"You're free of them now," Sanji said as he sat down with a pint of his own. "All we need to do now is figure out how to get rid of your collar."

"And my registration band."

"Is that what that is?"

Zoro nodded once.

Sanji took a swig of his beer. "That too then." He'd noticed that since being back with them, Zoro had been going barefoot all the time. It was probably because he couldn't zip his boots over the band on his leg.

Taking another sip, Zoro said, "This is a good brew. Nice to have this after all the sugar water they gave me. It wasn't too bad, but this is much better."

"I think Robin-chan said something about hybrids having a need for flower nectar, and that sugar water is seen as an acceptable substitute," Sanji said, as he stood to fetch a small bowl of beer nuts and pretzels.

"That must've been why then," Zoro deduced as he grabbed a couple of the pretzels from the bowl.

Sanji sat back down. "What must've been why?" He asked, curiousity piqued.

"Sugar water isn't something I'd normally drink, 'cause it's usually gross, but when I tasted it, it actually tasted okay." Actually, Zoro had enjoyed it enough to often consume copious amounts of it, but he didn't want to go into that right now.

"Why'd that kid flush your collar key down the toilet anyway?" Sanji asked after a moment.

"Josiah? He'd had this argument with Emmi, and there was a scuffle, and... I'm not sure, but I think it was an accident, so now I'm stuck with this-" He tapped the noisy little bell which jingled from the contact. "-until I can figure out how to get it off." He didn't want to think about not being able to remove it at all.

Sanji pondered the bell. "That thing must get pretty annoying."

"Yeah, it does," Zoro sighed as he drained his tankard. "I can mostly ignore it now though."

"Of all the collars they could've put on you, they had to pick one like that?" Sanji asked, refilling Zoro's pint. "It's cute, but it's not really your style."

"Emmi's mother picked it out. I'd been sedated before they brought me to their home, and when I woke up, I was in that cage with this around my neck. And it wasn't enough that I was caged, they kept me on a chain too."

"I remember," Sanji said as he thought back to when he first saw Zoro in the cage.

"Fletcher was the only thing that kept me from going crazy during the daytime while everyone was away from home for the day," Zoro smiled a small smile as he thought of the friendly dog. "I would've contacted you guys earlier, but I couldn't get Fletcher to understand that he needed to bring me the den den mushi."

"Damn," Sanji swore quietly. If Zoro could have gotten hold of that den den mushi, they could've gotten him out of there much sooner.

"Anyway, I don't care if we come across that island again in our travels, I'm never setting foot there again."

Sanji's hands caressed his tankard. After what Zoro had been through, he could understand completely.

\--------------------

"Stop Zoro!" Luffy shouted, catching Zoro in the shower desperately struggling once again to free himself of the collar. "You'll hurt yourself!" He pulled Zoro into a tight embrace, heedless of the water soaking his clothing, gradually weakening him. After a moment, the struggles ceased, and Zoro again regained his calm.

Chin on Luffy's shoulder, he chuckled bitterly. "I'm still a prisoner even though I'm no longer in that cage." His smirk softened until it left his face entirely. Sadness threatened to consume him. "Will I ever be free again?"

Luffy held his boyfriend in silence for a long while before he answered. "I don't know... What I do know is that we're together again, and that's all that matters. Even if we're _never_ able to remove it, it'll be okay, 'cause you're here with me and not locked up somewhere I can't find you like before."

Zoro smiled over Luffy's shoulder. His words didn't help him remove the collar, but they did reassure him. He could feel Luffy weakening with the water, so he said, "I'm done with my shower, so come on, let's get you into some dry clothes."

As Luffy slowly removed his arms, he asked, "Are you okay now?"

Zoro thought a second. "Yeah, all things considered, I'm okay."

Luffy wrapped his arms around Zoro again, kissing him hungrily. "That's good!"

When Luffy released him, Zoro stood to grab a towel. After peeling the sopping wet clothing off of his Sencho, he carefully dried him off. After drying Luffy, Luffy took the towel and began to dry off Zoro, starting with his back. Luffy eyed Zoro's wings as he dabbed the area between them.

"How do you dry your wings?"

"Those? I've found that it's best to let them air dry," Zoro replied. Then as Luffy moved to his hair, massaging his scalp, he murmured, "Oooooh, that feels sooooo good..."

Luffy sighed wistfully. "I wish I had wings like yours..."

Zoro shook his head slowly. "No you don't. Because if you did, they would've put you in a cage too. I hated being in that cage... I wouldn't want that for you. It's the worst feeling. Being away from all your nakama, with no way to get back... Being away from you... It's the worst feeling... Please don't wish you had wings like mine. My wings cost me my freedom for far too long."

Luffy had had no idea Zoro felt that way, and he spoke up. "But Zoro, it wasn't your wings, it was the people and their sick, twisted customs that cost you your freedom."

"Maybe you're right, but..." He sighed.

"You know I'm right," Luffy said, moving to Zoro's front to dry his chest. "That island seemed like a paradise from the outside. But who knew such ugly things went on behind the scenes?" It reminded him somewhat of Sabaody.

' _You don't realize how ugly,_ ' Zoro thought, but didn't voice it. "Did you at least enjoy that festival they held?"

"I couldn't leave you alone while you were in the cocoon!" Luffy admitted as he finished drying off his hybrid boyfriend. "I stayed right by your side that night."

Sadness once again painted Zoro's features. "Because of me, you missed the festival and all kinds of other fun things on that island."

"It wasn't you," Luffy wanted to make sure Zoro knew. "I didn't want to go to the festival without you anyway, remember?"

Zoro smiled. "Yeah, I remember." After a moment, Zoro's smile faded as he recalled something disturbing. He debated whether or not to tell Luffy.

"What's wrong?" Luffy asked, noticing something was troubling his first mate. Stroking Zoro's cheeks, he said, "You can tell me."

Zoro stayed silent for so long, that Luffy thought he wasn't going to say anything. "That family... They were talking about... Th-they were gonna neuter me."

"They _WHAT_??" Luffy shouted, startling Zoro badly.

"Shhh!" Zoro hissed. He was only telling Luffy because he felt he deserved to know. He didn't want anyone else knowing.

"But _why_??" Luffy asked, bringing his voice down.

"Said I was too aggressive." Zoro told him what the boy and father had said. "Thought that I'd be less aggressive and easier to train once it was done."

"What the _hell_?" Luffy nearly shouted again. "Easier to train?" Luffy realized then that that family really didn't see Zoro as a human, and that they had planned to keep him as their pet permanently.

"Yeah. It was actually that brat's idea," Zoro told him. "He'd decided it after being really evil to me one day, and the father agreed. If you hadn't gotten there in time..."

Luffy involuntarily glanced down between Zoro's legs, relieved to see everything he was born with still intact.

"Yeah, they're still there, thank goodness," Zoro said as he followed Luffy's gaze. "Come on, let's get out of here so my wings can dry properly."

\--------------------

"Kuso! Why do they keep coming after me?? I don't care _how_ much they paid for me, I'm not _going_ back to those people!" Zoro shouted after they'd had another run in with the Navy earlier; the marines unsuccessfully trying to recapture Zoro in an attempt to return him to his owners.

"Relax, Marimo. They're going to have to go through all of us before they get to you." Sanji snubbed out his cigarette in an ashtray.

Zoro couldn't see how Sanji could remain so calm. "They kept me chained up and locked in a _cage_!" He shouted angrily, referring to his owners. "A cage from which I couldn't get free!" Despite his anger, fear bled into his voice. "I _can't_ go back there! I _can't_!"

Rarely had Sanji seen such a look of abject fear on Zoro's face. It made him wonder what exactly Zoro had been through. "Look, Marimo!" Sanji said, grabbing Zoro's shoulders to make him regain his calm. "Do you really think we're going to just let them take you back?"

Zoro forced himself to calm down, realizing that Sanji was right. After a while, he said quietly, "You're right. There's... There's nothing to be afraid of."

"That's the spirit, Marimo!" Sanji exclaimed jokingly. Then, more seriously, he said, "Don't tell the others I said this, but you're our nakama. Whatever they do to you, they do to us all. Anyway, about that collar. Law should be able to remove it, shouldn't he?"

Zoro hadn't thought of that. "Yeah, you're right! But... what if the sea stone messes with his devil fruit powers?"

"If that's the case, there _has_ to be _some_ way to remove it. You can't be stuck with it forever." Sanji watched Zoro try to repress an involuntary shudder at his words.

Zoro made an effort to calm his racing heart, trying to believe in Sanji's words.

\--------------------

A vivid emerald eye with lilac flecks gazed over the serene ocean as Zoro leaned on the railings of the Thousand Sunny. He found looking over the sea in this way calming. In his relaxed state, he could almost ignore the way the bell jingled quietly in the soft, warm breeze.

"Zooorooo!~" He heard Luffy sing as his Sencho walked toward him.

Zoro gazed over his shoulder, a happy smile plastered onto his face. "Hey, Sencho."

"Are you happy to see me, or happy 'cause Torao is supposed to come today?" Luffy asked, hoping it was the former.

"Probably both," Zoro answered, turning back to the ocean view.

"Awww, Zoro!~ You were supposed to be happy to see _me_!" Luffy said in mock offense. Then he laughed happily. "Anyway, do you think he'll be able to remove them?"

"I certainly hope so!" Zoro reached up, tugging at the collar around his neck. "I've been stuck with this thing for going on three weeks now. It's past time to get rid of it, and that damn registration band."

"Yeah, I miss nuzzling your neck when we're in bed together." He reached up to try to touch Zoro's collar; Zoro stopping his hand before it could come into contact with the collar.

"Don't," he said simply. Then, after a moment, "I miss your nuzzles too."

\--------------------

"Just stand still, Zoro-ya, this won't hurt a bit," Law said calmly as he prepared to surround Zoro with his power. He thrust out his hand. "Room!"

The blue half-sphere grew rapidly until Zoro was enclosed within it. But then, they noticed something weird. Instead of enveloping Zoro, the blue power gave the collar and band wide berth, as if it were trying it's best to avoid them.

Law dispelled the circle, then tried again. "ROOM!" The same thing happened. "Shit."

Zoro's happy mood was going away, being replaced by apprehension. "What does " _shit_ " mean, Law?"

"It means that that collar and band aren't going to let me remove them," he explained as he retracted the half-sphere. "They interfere with my Devil Fruit powers."

"Shit!" Zoro swore in much the same way Law had. What was he going to tell Luffy now? And how in the Grandline was he going to free himself of the damnable things? He'd tried _everything_ to get them off! In the end, he sighed. Maybe he was going to have to just learn to live with them. He was tempted to try again to remove the implements himself, but Luffy was right. If he kept trying to remove something that wasn't designed to be taken off without a key, he really would hurt himself. "Damn it."

\------------------

Experimentally, Zoro slowly pressed the tip of Wado's blade against the metallic gold plating of his collar, wondering if he believed hard enough, he'd be able to cut himself free of it...

He nearly sliced open his own throat as he startled at the shrill voice of Luffy suddenly shouting from behind him.

"ZORO _NO_!! WHAT ARE YOU _DOING_!!"

Zoro whirled around, quickly sheathing his treasured katana as Luffy bounded over to him. "H-Hey, Sencho-"

"Don't give me "Hey Sencho"! You were tryna cut off your collar, weren't you?!" Luffy accused, coming to a stop in front of his first mate and boyfriend. "I know you're tired of it after being forced to wear it for so long, but how could you do something so _dangerous??_ "

Zoro reached up, grabbing the collar with the fingers of both hands. He yanked at it. "You don't know what it's like to not be able to remove something so horrible! They made me their _pet_! And they were right. As long as this thing is still locked around my neck, it means I still belong to them!" It had been five weeks now, and Zoro was being driven closer and closer to insanity with his inability to rid himself of the collar.

Luffy thought about how _he'd_ feel if someone had made _him_ their pet, as those people had done to Zoro. He knew Zoro wasn't suicidal, but he also knew he'd rather die than continue being those horrible people's pet as if he were some animal that had no say in how he was treated. "You don't belong to them, Zoro. You never did. Just because you're stuck with their collar, doesn't make you their pet."

"It does," Zoro countered, bringing his hands down to rest by his sides. "Pets have no control over what they're forced to wear. Being someone's pet is like slavery, only..." He'd been about to say 'worse', but then, he'd been semi-pampered when he'd been in that cage. He hadn't had to work at all, he'd had nice, soft padding and a thick, plush blanket, and there had even been toys in the cage (not that he'd ever played with them). If anything, his life in the cage had been _better_ than that of a slave. He sighed. "... I don't know... I just can't feel completely free like this."

\--------------------

The news coo soared through the skies on it's way to the Thousand Sunny. In addition to the daily paper, this one held in it's possession a special letter addressed to the Strawhat crew. Spotting the Sunny sailing lazily on the calm waves of the ocean, the news coo took a dive toward the ship, landing on the railings.

Nami, wondering what was in today's news, noted the small envelope the bird held in it's beak. "What's this?" She asked as she extended her hand; the bird dropping the envelope gently into her palm. Noticing a metallic jingle as it landed, she promptly opened it up. Unfolding the letter, she was surprised as two small objects fell from it onto the lawn deck. Stooping to pick them up, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Luffy! Zoro!" She called...

\--------------------

Luffy was so busy trying to convince Zoro to leave the collar alone, that he almost hadn't heard Nami call their names. He paused as she came running in. "Nami?..."

"Guys!" She blurted out, coming to a stop. "Look what came by news coo!" She handed the letter to Luffy.

Luffy opened it up to read it. "It's from Emmi." Upon hearing his friend's name, Zoro eagerly peered over Luffy's shoulder.

_Dear Luffy & Zoro,_

_It's Emmi, I hope you and Zoro are happy now that you two are back together. I miss talking to Zoro, but I know that being back with you, and not living here in his cage is where he truly belongs. I know he's much happier with you._

_Now comes the reason I'm writing you. We'd recently had problems with our plumbing, so we got it checked out-_

Luffy stopped reading, giving the letter a confused look. "What's plumbing problems got to do with anything?"

Hope was beginning to blossom in Zoro's chest, despite his efforts to keep it down.

Nami smiled. "Keep reading."

Luffy hesitantly turned back to the letter, continuing.

_-we got it checked out, and well, long story short, there's a little something enclosed for Zoro. Two items actually. I apologize for not being able to get them to you guys sooner, but a lot of things have been happening since you left..._

"Something enclosed?" Luffy asked as Nami handed him the envelope which she'd brought with her. Turning it over, the two objects tumbled out into his palm. One of the objects was a familiar one which made Zoro's eyes widen in a similar way to Nami's earlier, and the happiest grin he'd ever grinned lit up his face.

It was the key to his collar.

For a split second, Zoro gave the key the same look a starving man would have given a buffet table, before he snatched it out of Luffy's hands so fast, Luffy wasn't sure he'd seen Zoro grab it.

Hands trembling from excitement, Zoro fumbled with the key, repeatedly trying and failing to get it into the lock on the collar.

Nami stepped over to him, grabbing the key from his shaking hand, "How are you going to get it off when you can't even see what you're doing? Let me handle this." She moved around back of him where the lock on the collar was, inserting the key into the lock and turning, all three of them hearing the click that signalled Zoro's newfound freedom from the collar.

Zoro reached up in time to catch the open collar as it fell from around his muscular neck. Clutching it in his right hand, he massaged the skin in the area where it had been with his other hand. "...I can't believe I'm finally free of that thing! Oh god, I'm _FREE!_ " In his voice, Luffy heard a mixture of immense relief and elation.

"I think this other thing is s'posed to remove the band around your leg, but how does it work?" Luffy asked, squatting to peer at the offending band. Nami and Zoro stooped in the same manner.

The tool remaining in Luffy's hand was long and thin, bent in a slight L shape. Zoro picked it up, studying it. "I didn't think there was a way to remove it," he said, referring to the band around his leg. If it wasn't permanent, that meant that total freedom was within his grasp after all.

"Hmmm..." Nami thought a moment, then she had an idea. She peered along the inside surface of the band, between it and Zoro's leg, looking for any small hole into which the instrument could be inserted.

"Whoa... No wonder we couldn't find a way to get it off. I never thought of looking there," Luffy said as he watched his navigator study the band.

"I got the idea when I saw how the tool was shaped," Nami said quietly. Then, "Ah-ha! Found it!" She carefully inserted the tool into the miniscule opening, hearing yet another freedom click. The band unlocked, falling from Zoro's ankle, harmlessly onto the lawn deck.

The grin that graced Zoro's features upon being completely set free, could have lit up the sky had it been night time.

"So what are you gonna do with- Hey!" Luffy said as Zoro stood up and marched straight over to the railings of the ship. He gazed at the collar and registration band one last time, realizing that his days as Momo The Pink-Winged Pet were now over, then promptly flung them out into the sea.

Only when they hit the surface of the water, and disappeared from sight, did he dare breathe a sigh of relief.

\--------------------

"I missed being able to cuddle with you," Luffy said, nuzzling Zoro's bare neck as they lie under the blankets together in their shared box hammock.

Zoro smiled as he buried his head under Luffy's chin. "I missed your cuddling too," he admitted. After a long moment of the quiet savoring of being wrapped in Luffy's arms, he asked, "Do you think Emmi will be successful?"

"In what she's embarking on?" Luffy asked, referring to the rest of the letter. "Yeah, I believe in her. Plus, she'll probably gain supporters over time, so she'll be able to do it."

A smile spread over Zoro's face as his eye closed. Luffy believed in Emmi, so because he believed in Luffy, he would believe in Emmi as well. Maybe in a few years, if things really _had_ changed for the better for the hybrids, he could fly around on that island again without fear of being recaptured. "Yeah, I think so too."

_After what happened with Zoro that day, my friends and I have started a rapidly growing grassroots Hybrid Freedom Movement. Turns out, I'm not the only one who sees something wrong with the reprehensible way hybrids are treated in this country. It's now the time to start seeing the hybrids as the humans they are, and eventually free them to live as they wish, without cages, collars, or chains..._

_Anyway, I hope that when we meet again, it'll be in a society that celebrates the beauty and uniqueness of hybrids without stripping them of their humanity._

_Until we meet again,_  
_Emmi_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's one more part to this, but I'm thinking of ending it here, and posting the next part as a one-shot sequel


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally finished the last chapter! I hope you all like! Please read & review!

"Come and look, Zoro!"

The sound of the Pirate King's running footsteps could be heard just outside the men's quarters, where Roronoa Zoro, The World's Greatest Swordsman had been attempting a quiet nap.

Luffy burst in, running over to Zoro's side of their bed. They'd arrived back at the island country in which Zoro had first become a hybrid. "Zoro! Zoro, you gotta see this!"

Zoro yawned deeply, slowly cracking open his eye. "What's so exciting, Sencho? I'm tired. Can't it wait until later?"

"You know that island where you first became a hybrid? The log pose is pointing to it again," Luffy told him, grinning widely. "And there are- Oh Zoro! Just come and look!"

Zoro sighed deeply. Even though Emmi had kept in touch over the years, telling them of the progress she and her peers had made in their Hybrid Freedom movement, Zoro still didn't feel ready to go back there. They'd been lucky that the last few times they'd circumnavigated the globe after they'd found the One Piece, the log pose had pointed to other islands around this one. Supposing that a return to this paradise-on-the-outside island was inevitable at some point, he slowly sat up, stretching. Pulling on his boots, he followed Luffy up to the lawn deck.

When they reached the deck, Luffy pointed into the sky. "Look!"

Zoro heart soared as he stared up wide-eyed at a sky filled with hybrids of various beautiful wing color combinations. Watching his hybrid brethren flying around freely, put a genuinely happy grin on his face.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Luffy whispered to Zoro, as he watched the flight of the hybrids with Zoro.

Just then, one of the flying hybrids noticed them, or rather, noticed Zoro, and flew right up to him. Luffy recognized this hybrid as Katsuya. "Zoro! I thought that was you! Long time no see!" He turned to Luffy. "Hey, Luffy! Good to see you two back here! After the lengths he went through to try to get back to you, I thought he'd never return."

"I see you're a free man now, Katsuya," Zoro observed, looking his friend up and down. "How does it feel?"

"Freedom feels wonderful! Something I'll definitely never take for granted again!" He stated proudly, landing on the soft, well-tended grass of the lawn deck. "I'd been locked up for too damn long."

"What happened after we freed you that day? Were you able to see your son again?" Luffy asked.

"Yes, but then they recaptured me about a week later, took me back to the veterinarian office and had me locked back up again. It was only about a year ago that I was finally permanently freed, all thanks to President Windsor. Actually though, according to her, you all played a big part in helping start the Hybrid Freedom movement."

While Katsuya had been talking, gears turned in Zoro's head. "What's President Windsor's first name?"

"It's Emily, but she prefers we call her Emmi. Says it sounds less pretentious and more approachable that way."

"Emmi," Zoro said quietly, smiling. As he wondered what she looked like now, Katsuya continued.

By the way, you're pretty famous on this island. Not least of which for the reason I mentioned earlier." At Zoro's look of confusion, Katsuya clarified. "Back then, you were the only hybrid to successfully escape the island _as_ a hybrid."

"It was only because of my nakama, though," Zoro was quick to point out. "I couldn't have done it alone."

"Even so, you're somewhat of a legend among us hybrids," Katsuya told him. "And not just because you're The World's Greatest Swordsman."

"So..." Zoro began. "Does this mean that all the hybrids have been set free?"

"Unfortunately, no," Katsuya said sadly. "The laws still haven't changed much so there are still some affluent people who continue to purchase and keep hybrids as pets. President Windsor is working on that, but it's an uphill battle. Sadly, something else happened to her to make her redouble her efforts to free all the hybrids."

"What happened?" Luffy asked.

"Actually, it was around a year or so after you left, but while she was on vacation with her family, her younger brother got ahold of one of the hybrid fruits, becoming one himself. It wasn't long after that that he was captured and sold to an affluent family with even more wealth than hers. She knows his whereabouts, but hasn't been able to see him since he'd been sold. At least, with the way things are in this country, owning a hybrid is now largely frowned upon, so we may see more progress down the road that will eventually lead to freedom for us all."

Zoro listened to Katsuya's words with rapt interest. After a moment, he blurted out, "Josiah?"

"Yeah, that's his name," Katsuya said, before going on. "She told us that until he became one himself, Josaih had had a real disdain for hybrids. Thought that he was better than us."

Zoro recalled all the taunting, abuse, and full-on arrogance he'd been forced to endure from the boy while he was locked up in his own cage all those years ago. " _Tell_ me about it." One part of him was happy that the boy, undoubtably a young man by now, was receiving his karma, but another part of him, couldn't bear to think of the boy being treated in the same disdainful way he'd once been, even if it _was_ Josiah.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that you would know, since you were her family's pet for a short time," Katsuya said.

Thinking of his experiences back then, made him recall something else, and he spoke up. "I just remembered something. Back then, freeing a hybrid was considered a criminal offense. What happened to Emmi after we left?"

"According to her, she was spared from prison because her parents attested that she didn't know what she was doing when she helped to free you. Plus, her family had enough money and influence to be able to get the courts to let her off with some light community service; something like that. Thank goodness! Because if it weren't for her, I, and many other hybrids, would still be sitting around languishing in cages with collars locked around our necks. I look forward to the day when we're all free to fly whereever, and whenever we please."

Zoro thought for a moment. "I haven't seen Emmi in years. Do I have to make an appointment to see her?"

Katsuya thought a second. "Yes. But if she knows it's you, you'll probably be able to see her right away. Come on, I'll take you to her."

After Luffy informed the rest of the crew about where they were going, the three of them left the ship.

\--------------------

As he walked with Luffy and Katsuya to the receptionist's desk of the building, Zoro noticed two things. One, nearly all the employees of the place were hybrids, and, two, try as he might to ignore them, he realized that they were pointing at him and whispering excitedly.

Just then, three female hybrids timidly walked up to him. "Ro- Roronoa-san?" The one in front spoke up. When he turned to them, the awestruck hybrid continued. "It really is you!... I'm Laura, and this is Sarah and Amanda," she said, indicating her friends. Quickly producing a piece of paper and pen, she enthusiastically handed it to him with two hands. "Could we have your autograph?"

Zoro didn't really understand why they wanted his autograph, he wasn't famous in the same way Brook was. But then, maybe on this island, he was something of a celebrity. He _had_ seen others staring and pointing at him as they'd flown here. He gave them a wry smile. "Sure, why not?"

After scrawling his signature on the paper, and handing it back to them, Laura said, "It's so cool to meet you! You guys here to see President Windsor?"

"We are, actually, yes," Zoro said. "She's a friend I haven't seen in a while. We go way back."

"I know!" She said excitedly. "You're pretty famous here. On the island, I mean. Plus President Windsor still talks about you from time to time. She'll be happy to see you again! Anyway, we need to get going. Have a nice visit!"

As they left, Zoro heard Luffy calling him.

"Receptionist said she'll be here in a few minutes, and that we should wait here."

After about five minutes, Emmi strolled out of the elevator with a bright smile lighting up her face. "Zoro! Luffy! Long time no see!" Hugging the two men, she invited them and Katsuya up to her office. "Someone is gonna be very happy to see you!" She said to Zoro as they walked into the open elevator.

"Huh?"

\--------------------

"Fletcher!" Zoro shouted happily as the big, fluffy dog lumbered over to him with his tongue lolling out. He was old now, and the way he moved suggested that he probably had a form of arthritis among other problems associated with old age. Zoro squatted down to pet the dog. "I haven't seen you in so long! How're things going with you?" The dog licked his hands.

Emmi smiled at the happy reunion. "He's having some vision and hearing problems, and some arthritis in his back legs which I give him medicine for, but all in all, he's doing well for a dog that just turned eleven."

"Eleven?" Zoro repeated, then he turned again to Fletcher. "You're an old boy now! Hope life has treated you well so far!"

"He's been great while you were gone, but for a while after you left, he missed you greatly." Emmi came over to scratch the dog behind the ears. "I'm glad he was able to see you again." She looked up at Zoro's wings, noticing a small notch missing from his right wing. "So what happened to your wing?" She asked.

Zoro looked up at it. "Oh that? It happened during my quest to become The World's Greatest Swordsman." He turned back to Fletcher. "It doesn't hinder my ability to fly though, so don't worry."

"So you guys want anything to drink or some snacks to eat while we talk?" Emmi asked, going over to a pair of vending machines that apparently needed no money to dispense snacks or drinks.

"I'm good for now."  
"Me too."  
"I'll take a meat sandwich!"

\--------------------

Luffy, Zoro, and Katsuya all sat around Emmi's desk as she relayed to them what had happened to her brother.

"...And after that, he was sold to a filthy rich family on the other side of the island. We offered to buy him back from them, but so far, they refuse to let us have him. I know he was annoying, and sometimes hateful, but he was my brother! Because of them, I haven't seen my little brother in seven years!"

Zoro got up, reached across her desk, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down. Maybe we can help you get him back." Part of him really didn't want to have to deal with her brother again, with all of the trouble Josiah had put him through years ago. But then, if he didn't help him, he'd let down Emmi.

"But you'll get into a lot of trouble..."

"As pirates, we've gotten into loads of trouble on our adventures! Why do you think our bounties are so high?" Luffy told her.

Emmi had kept up with the Strawhat's Bounties over the years, particularly Zoro's and Luffy's, and had seen just how ridiculously high they'd gotten from the time she first met them.

Luffy's voice was filled with resolve. "If you want your brother back, we'll get him back!"

"If you don't mind, could I help too?" Katsuya asked hopefully.

Zoro shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, why not?"

"Oh you guys... Thank you so much!" Emmi said as she hugged them all. "Before you go, I feel it's fair that I warn you. Especially you, Zoro. There are groups here that make it their hobby to capture and sell pink-winged hybrids. This is one of the reasons you almost never see them. The ones who haven't been captured are terrified to leave their residences, and when they do, they're forced to travel in large groups of other hybrids to protect themselves."

Luffy grew angry. "Why the ones with pink wings?"

"Well, as you know, hybrids with pink wings are really rare, and therefore highly prized by hybrid collectors. If you get recaptured, it may be a while before I can free you."

Zoro spoke up then. "Why not just tell them I'm your hybrid? It was the truth at one time."

"You're no longer wearing your registration band, so in a seller's eyes, you're a wild hybrid, and therefore fair game."

"Damn," Zoro swore. Knowing what to expect from this place, he knew that the likelihood of getting captured again was next to none but he decided to be cautious anyway, remembering what had happened the first time he was here.

"All I'm asking, is that you be careful while you're out there, and try not to get captured yourself," Emmi warned. "The collectors are like rabid dogs when it comes to getting what they want."

"You want to come with us?" Luffy asked. "So you can be reunited with your brother?"

Emmi shuffled some papers on her desk. "I'd love to, but work is piling up. I need to get back to it." Then she thought a moment. "You know what? It'll only be a little while. I can get someone else to handle things for me while I'm gone. It shouldn't take too long. I really want to see him again."

\--------------------

As Luffy and Emmi soared through the sunny skies on the shoulders of Zoro and Katsuya, respectively, Zoro thought about Josiah and how he'd been treated by him years ago.

_"Stupid moth!"_   
_"Dad, I've been thinking. Don't you think it would be a good idea to have Momo neutered? He's a little rough around the edges. It could help calm his aggression..."_

He thought about the family's desire to have him neutered, and realized that, thanks to Emmi and the rest of his crew... he'd dodged a bullet. A very fast, very dangerous bullet.

_"I'm not a moth hybrid, so I'm not gonna need a cage."_   
_"I'm not gonna become a moth!"_

As he thought of Josiah as he was now, emotions warred in Zoro's heart. After what Josiah had put him through, part of him wanted to not care about Josiah's predicament. But now Josiah was apparently a caged hybrid himself. A hybrid who'd just spent seven years in captivity. Zoro felt that seven years of captivity was far too much, even for someone like Josiah. He was broken out of his reverie by Emmi's voice.

"I think the hybrid collecting groups have spotted us..."

Zoro looked down to the ground to see several people gathering. What they held in their hands made Zoro's heart skip a beat. Tranquilizer dart guns.

Immediately, Zoro shot upward to hide himself and Luffy amongst the clouds, as did Katsuya and Emmi. And just in time too, as the men began shooting at them. He itched to fight them, but he had a mission. He didn't have time to stop and fight. Besides, those darts were hard to see, until they hit you, and by then, it would be too late. Flying above the clouds now, he asked Emmi, "How much further?"

"Just a little further," She directed him as to where to go. "It's right around here."

Cautiously, Zoro descended until he and the others were just below the clouds. Looking around, it seemed that they were in the clear, as the hybrid collectors were nowhere to be seen.

"Here. This residence right here," Emmi told them as the two hybrids landed on the roof of the large two story home. "This is where he's being held. I don't think there's anyone home now. I hate to break in, but I can't think of any other way to get inside..."

"Leave the break-in to us," Luffy said confidently as he and Zoro glided down to the grass below. Before Luffy could do anything, Zoro already had his katana out and had sliced through the back entrance. Running in, Zoro looked around, wondering where the young man would be. Moving from room to room throughout both floors, they searched for the young man, coming up fruitless.

"Okay. Where the hell are they keeping him?" Zoro asked as they ended up back in the kitchen.

"The houses of this island have basements," Emmi commented, hoping that that was the one place where her brother wasn't. Around here, basements had no windows, so to keep a caged hybrid down there was nothing short of cruel. "Maybe we should check there."

Luffy noted the look on her face. She really hoped they wouldn't find Josiah there. "Emmi. Even if he's down there, we'll free him, and make sure that he never has to endure anything like that again."

Zoro sighed. Part of him really didn't want to face Josiah again, but the other part of him disliked the idea of _any_ hybrid being held captive. "Well, it is the one place we haven't checked. I guess it's worth a look."

Cracking open the door to the basement, Zoro and the rest of the rescue team crept their way down the stairs, only pausing to flick on a dim light near the entrance, and grab a set of keys hanging near the door. Hoping they were the keys to open the cage, Zoro heard the familiar noise of a chain clinking, following the sound to it's source.

In the dimness of the basement light, they came across a barred structure quite a bit smaller than Zoro's cage had been. Inside though, they could make out the shape of a cowering hybrid who looked to be trying to hide himself among his tattered blankets in the back of the cage.

Zoro resisted the urge to hold his nose at the smell emanating from within the structure. Even though he'd never liked Josiah, he'd be _damned_ if he was going to allow the boy, now a young man, to continue to live like this. His heart went out to him.

Emmi was taken aback by the utter squalor her younger brother was forced to live in, covering her mouth with her hands. She cautiously called out, "...Josiah?"

In the dim light, the hybrid in question stopped what he was doing, and a small, weak, fear-filled voice called out, "...Emmi?... Emmi! Thank goodness it's you! Please help m-" The voice abruptly cut off, as he caught sight of Zoro in the near darkness.

Zoro, noting that while Josiah's voice hadn't really changed much pitch-wise, it had lost all of the haughtiness, arrogance, and hatefulness it had once held. It made him wonder what had happened to the boy. By his calculations, Josiah had to be about nineteen years old by now. Taking a deep breath, he let it go before he spoke. "We're... I'm gonna get you out of there."

"...I'm sorry..." The hybrid's weak voice said meekly.

Zoro's hands busied themselves with opening the cage, and removing the collar that encircled Josiah's neck. Zoro sighed. He knew exactly what Josiah was apologizing for. "Don't worry about it. It's all water under the bridge anyway." The truth was, some of the things Josiah had said to him all those years ago still stung, but he chose not to worry about that for now as he set about freeing Josiah.

Josiah stood free of the cage for the first time in many years. Except for a pair of loose-fitting boxer-type shorts, the poor young man was completely naked. He was much thinner than he'd been when Zoro had last seen him; his ribs showing through his skin. His pale blond hair was much longer than Zoro and Emmi had ever seen it; it hung in large, tangled, filthy, waist-length matted clumps. His powder blue wings sported a sea green streak pattern. No swirls or spots.

"...I'm really sorry, Zoro-san...." Josiah spoke again, grasping his shorts so that they didn't fall down. Tears filled his eyes. "...I'm sorry for treating you the way I did back then..."

"Hey, I _told_ you. Don't worry about it. That was years ago. I've moved on." Zoro reassured the young man.

Despite how filthy Josiah was, Emmi went to him, hugging him tight, realizing just how abused her little brother had been living here. There were markings on his skin that denoted that he'd been severely beaten many times in the past.

Josiah hugged Emmi back for a brief second, before frantically grabbing at the pants that had slipped when he'd let them go.

It had been brief, but Zoro had seen it. Or rather, he'd seen what was no longer there. Remembering the days when Josiah and his father had threatened to do it to him, he still couldn't help but feel bad for the young man. "Come on. Let's get out of here before we're discovered." He turned to Josiah. "Can you walk okay?"

Josiah nodded slowly. "I think so..."

"Good. First we need to get you to safety, then..." Looking at Josiah's obviously starvation emaciated body, Zoro continued. "Get you some good food and proper clothing."

"Will you be able to fly, Josiah?" Emmi asked.

Josiah thought for a moment. "...I can try..."

"I doubt he's fit to fly," Zoro observed. "We'll need a blanket to wrap him in, then I can carry him."

"I'll find one!" Luffy offered, then went to do just that.

\--------------------

After they got Josiah wrapped in a blanket, covering his eyes so that the light wouldn't bother them, they all trekked their way out of the basement.

"Mom! Look! A hybrid with pink wings!" A voice to Zoro's right shouted. "I've never _seen_ one this close up before!"

Four heads turned to see a girl around twelve, and her mother standing in the kitchen. Arms crossed, the woman looked over the group that had just exited her basement. Zoro was immediately on the defense.

"And where may I ask are you taking our hybrid?" She asked, eyeing Josiah's wing poking out of the blanket. Her eyes flicked back up at Zoro. She was expecting an answer.

"Away from here," Zoro said calmly. Glancing down at Josiah, an unexpected feeling of anger at the way some of the people on the island still treated hybrids, bubbled up in his chest. Even if it was Josiah, someone he'd once hated, what gave this woman the right to treat the young man in such a horrible way?

The woman grew indignant. "You can't just take our hybrid! We paid good money for him!"

Zoro and Luffy well remembered Josiah and his father saying something along those lines about Zoro, eight years ago.

"Oh, I can't? Just watch me!" Zoro sneered, just before he took off for the back entrance where his katana had left a gaping hole, Luffy, Katsuya, and Emmi right behind him.

"Stop! Get back here with our hybrid!" The woman shouted, running after the group. Unable to catch Zoro, she swore aloud. "Damn!" Rushing into the living room, she grabbed her den den mushi.

\--------------------

"...Zoro-san?"

Zoro held Josiah tightly wrapped in his blanket as they flew over the clouds. "Yeah? And just Zoro's fine."

Josiah tried to find the words for what he wanted to say. After a few minutes, he began, "...U-Until I became a hybrid... and was forced to live... in a cage myself... I had no idea how horrible... it was... to have to live that way..."

Josiah recalled the time he'd asked Zoro why couldn't he just be happy in his cage. Now that Josiah had experienced living in captivity for as long as he had, Zoro's long ago reply to his question made a lot more sense now. Remorse and embarrassment colored his cheeks as he thought about all the things he'd said and done to Zoro back then. All the times he'd demeaned Zoro, calling him "stupid moth". That one time he'd slapped Zoro's cast because he knew how much it would hurt his broken wrist.

He now understood why Zoro had been so aggressive.

Fresh tears flowed from Josiah's eyes as he recalled asking his father if it would be a good idea to neuter Zoro. If only he'd known then what he knew now. If only he'd known how horrible neutering was on the person to whom it was done. Had he known, he never would have even suggested neutering. But then, he reminded himself, he probably still would have, because back then, he was a selfish, hateful little bastard.

In a twist of irony, Josiah's owners had had him neutered for the exact same reason that he'd wanted it done to Zoro. Zoro had been more fortunate than he'd been however. Zoro had had nakama who'd rescued him from the hell that was captivity. Josiah had had no one to turn to in his time of need. Even his parents couldn't help him. He'd been all alone.

He'd gotten his karma. And it had bitten him in the ass. Hard.

Josiah's vision blurred and wobbled, his tears being soaked up by the blanket covering his eyes before they could fall. He continued. "I didn't understand then... what I put you through... I thought you were just... aggressive and ungrateful... I didn't realize just how awful it must have been... being forced to stay... in a cage you didn't want to be in... even if it was only for a few days..."

"That's all in the past now." Zoro sighed as he carefully carried his charge through the air. The fact that Josiah was completely remorseful, changed the way Zoro felt about him.

Josiah sniffed, taking a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. "...I know... But Emmi is right... Cages are for animals... and... we as hybrids... we deserve better..."

Zoro grunted quietly, agreeing, just as Emmi indicated where they should land.

"We should land here," she said, indicating an elaborate house with off-white siding and a brown roof. "This is where I live. All of you should be safe here." When they landed and had gone inside, she said, "The first order of business is getting him cleaned up," Emmi said as she gazed at the brother she hadn't seen in seven years. "Then he'll need some food. Zoro, please take him upstairs to the bathroom. I'll be there in a little while."

\--------------------

In the bathroom, Josiah sat on the toilet seat cover in his blanket, as Zoro drew him a bath. After a minute, Josiah spoke up.

"...Zoro?"

"Yeah?" He answered as he grabbed a bar of soap from the vanity cabinet, and a washcloth from a small storage space above the toilet.

"Pink is a rare color for hybrid wings..." Josiah began.

"So I keep hearing." Zoro sighed, bringing both items to the tub. He stopped the water; the tub now filled with heaping, bright white suds.

"... How do you feel... about your pink and lilac wings?..." Josiah realized that most people thought of pink and lilac as being girly colors, so he wondered how Zoro, a large, burly, muscular man, felt about his wing color.

"I didn't care for the color when I first got them, but I've gotten used to it over time," Zoro mused, peeling the blanket from Josiah's shoulders. "Besides, Sencho loves it, so there's that. Has loved it from the beginning. Oh. And in answer to your question from eight years ago. Yes."

Josiah was genuinely confused, and his eyebrows indicated it. "...Yes what?"

Zoro elaborated. "I was given the name "Momo" because my wings were pink."

"...Oh..."

"Alright. Time for your bath," Zoro said as he rolled down the rest of the blanket. But the young man didn't seem to want to let go of his shorts.

"Josiah..." Zoro began, unable to recall a time he'd ever actually used his name. "I already saw. I _know_ ," he said gently.

Josiah shook his head. He wasn't taking his shorts off in front of Zoro.

"Hmmm..." Zoro thought a moment, gazing up at the shower curtain. He then turned to Josiah. "Step in. I'll pull this closed, and you can take them off then."

Josiah did as he was told, and Zoro pulled the curtain. After a moment, a hand stuck out from the curtain with the shorts clutched in a loose fist.

Zoro really didn't want to touch the shorts which emitted a scent not unlike that of... something... that hadn't been washed in god-only-knew how long. Which was exactly what it was, and the only thing Zoro could think of.

Zoro spotted a wastebasket nearby, picking it up, bringing it to Josiah. "Put them in this."

Josiah pulled open the curtain (he was already sitting in the suds), and dropped them in. He whispered, "... Thanks..." as he began to try to bath himself. The delightfully hot water felt divine to his skin, and that basement had been cold, so cold, and he found it hard to fight sleep.

"Need help?" Zoro asked, concerned that the young man was going to fall asleep.

Josiah shook his head, continuing to lather up his washcloth. "... I got it..."

The water and suds darkened noticably as the young hybrid washed off years of dirt, grime, and filth; his skin becoming an even more pristine porcelain color than it had been eight years ago. ' _Seven years of being locked in a dark, windowless basement_...' Zoro thought sadly. Grime, grit, and oil streamed from his long, matted blond hair too as Zoro sat next to the tub to help him wash it.

Though Josiah's empty stomach cavity rumbled several times in the course of his bath, he bathed as fast as his starvation riddled body would allow. Zoro noted that the young hybrid was so starved for food that his ribs showed through his skin, and the bones in his back were badly protruding. He thought about the one crewmate who would know firsthand _exactly_ how Josiah felt right about now.

"Sanji..." Zoro said, thinking aloud.

"... Wha...?"

"One of my nakama. You've met him," Zoro clarified. "I'll have Sanji fix you up something good to eat when you get done."

"... Okay..."

Zoro could tell from Josiah's demeanor, that time in continuous captivity coupled with abuse and starvation had definitely changed his personality. He was no longer the arrogant, prideful, hateful, bastard child who'd done nothing but look down on Zoro as if he were one of the Tenryuubito and Zoro was his trash.

No.

The abuse he'd suffered in captivity had broken him.

"Let me find some scissors," Zoro said to try to take his mind off of the horrible things some people did to ones who were their so-called national treasures.

"...I... became a "moth" after all..." Josiah began, laughing bitterly. "... After I said I wasn't going to..." The bitter smile left his face. "...It's like... it just happened... It seemed like, one minute, I was normal... And the next, I was a hybrid..." He looked up at Zoro. "And the way some people treat us... is deplorable... The way I treated you, was deplorable... I'm surprised that... you even forgave me..."

"Well, it did happen a long time ago," Zoro told him, rooting through a few drawers. "Ah, found some." Coming back over to Josiah, he sat seiza position next to the tub. "Hold still. I'm gonna cut these mats out of your hair."

"... Thank you..."

Zoro could sense that the Thank You wasn't for his hair. "For what?"

"... Thank you...for forgiving me... After all I'd done to you..."

"Don't sweat it," Zoro replied, starting on the first matted chunk. "Just relax and enjoy the hot water."

\--------------------

Emmi, Katsuya, and Luffy walked back to the house with clothes and groceries in hand.

"Will Josiah be okay?" Katsuya asked, noting too, that the young man had looked liked he hadn't had a meal in who-knew-how-long.

"Yeah, now that we got him out of there in time, he should be okay. Once he's been bathed and taken care of foodwise, he'll be on the road to recovery." Because of her work schedule, he'd probably have to live with their parents for a while. "Once he's fully recovered, I can give him a job at my headquarters."

"Sounds like a plan," Katsuya said.

Luffy spoke up then. "If you want to fill him up real good, why not have Sanji fix him something? When it comes to food, he's the best!"

"But I have groceries already," Emmi said, indicating the bags in her hands. At Luffy's disappointed look, she said, "Well, okay. I guess having Sanji cook for him isn't a bad idea. Besides, it'll save me some time."

A happy Luffy cheered enthusiastically.

\--------------------

After his bath, Josiah felt exhausted, finding it harder than ever to stay awake. Zoro had found a bath towel, helping the young hybrid dry himself.

"After I find you some clothes, we need to get something into your stomach," he said as he carried a towel draped Josiah to the nearest guest bedroom. "Where's Emmi? She said she'd be here." It was then that he heard the front door opening.

"Zoro! We're back!" He heard Luffy's voice say.

Emmi went upstairs with the bags of clothes, looking for her friend. The scent of soap hit her nose as she walked up. "Zoro?"

"In the guest bedroom," he called from the room in question.

As Emmi entered, she was met with the sight of Zoro lovingly tending to her now much cleaner younger brother. His hair was free of the large, gross mats that had once hung from it, and although it was still long, it was now washed and combed. His folded wings were partially covered by the towel draped around him; the cool air of the room making him shiver. As Emmi went to turn off the thermostat, she handed Zoro the bags. "There's a sweatshirt in there that he can wear."

Zoro looked through the bags, spotting the sweatshirt in question. It was like all his own clothing, specifically designed for hybrids with their wings and extra limbs. After he'd dressed Josiah, he led the hybrid out of the room, Josiah stumbling a bit along the way. Realizing that the stumbling was a result of having been starved half to death, Zoro picked up the young man, carrying him again.

"I was thinking we could have Sanji fix him up a meal to restore his strength," Zoro said to Emmi as she walked out of another bedroom. "Don't tell him I said this, but, his food is the best."

"Luffy was also saying something about having Sanji fix him a meal earlier," Emmi recalled. "So I guess Sanji it is!"

\--------------------

Sanji looked over the young hybrid for a long moment before saying, "This is that kid who wanted to keep you locked up in that cage, isn't it? Why'd you bring him here?"

"Look at him. He's starved half to death," Zoro said, knowing that Sanji wouldn't be able to keep himself from feeding the young man.

A deep sigh from Sanji. "Alright." And he took out enough cookware to make a feast to stuff twelve people.

\--------------------

Josiah stuffed his face so fast, that he choked a few times in the process. The food he was eating was the best he'd ever had. Even the ritziest restaurants didn't have food this good. After he finished, he pushed his plate away, and bowing his head, he said, "That was delicious... Thank you so, so much..."

"Glad you enjoyed it," Sanji replied, picking up the dishes. "Would you care for dessert?"

"Yes sir," Josiah said as he bowed his head again.

"You don't have to keep doing that, you know." Sanji placed a delicate-looking slice of pie in front of the young man. "Anyway, now that I've been filled in on what you went through these last seven years... I guess if Marimo's willing to forgive you, then so am I."

Josiah had no idea what to say, so he just nodded once. He couldn't meet Sanji's eyes as he ate, and when he was done, he excused himself as he went to find Zoro and Emmi.

\-------------------

As Josiah flew through the air under his own power now that he'd had a good meal, he asked Emmi, who was riding on Katsuya's shoulders, "Is Fletcher still alive? I haven't seen him in so long..."

"Yes, he is, and he'll be happy to see you!" Emmi said, as they all headed back to her office building.

"I hope so," Josiah sighed. "But, he probably won't remember me..."

"I saw him earlier, and he remembered me," Zoro said, catching sight of the office building in the distance. "He'll remember you, too."

Josiah turned to Zoro, "You've seen him?"

"Yeah. Emmi took me to her office earlier, where we planned your rescue. Fletcher's there and he's old now, but he's otherwise okay," Zoro reassured the young man.

Tears filled Josiah's eyes again, and he hastily wiped them away. "I loved that dog, but because of my captivity, I missed the best years of his life..."

"He still has a few more years left," Zoro said. "You can enjoy those with him."

Josiah sighed sadly. "Years ago, when you thanked Fletcher for helping you not feel sad when you were caged, back then, it made me so angry. But now I understand. To tell the truth, I'm still a little envious. I had nothing but the mice that came in when I was locked in the basement. And even then, sometimes they'd steal what little food I was given."

"How often did they feed you anyway?" Zoro asked, landing on the roof of the office building.

"Apparently, whenever they felt like it." Josiah landed as well, only just now realizing that this was the first time in seven years that he'd been allowed to fly freely.

\--------------------

"...Fletcher?"

Fletcher's head went up and his ears perked. He ambled over to Josiah.

"... Hi Fletcher... It's me, Josiah," he stooped down to let the dog sniff his hand. After all, it had been seven years.

The young man smelled the same to Fletcher, and his voice sounded pretty much the same, but he looked so different. He was taller when he was standing, his hair was a lot longer, and he was so thin. Not to mention his wings, antennae, and extra limbs. Still, this was unmistakably his Josiah, whom he hadn't seen in a long, long time. Fletcher tenderly licked the man's hand, feeling how weak he still was.

"See? He still remembers you," Emmi said as Fletcher began to wag his tail.

Josiah smiled as the dog licked his thin, gaunt face. "I missed you too!" As he pet the dog, he glanced up at Zoro. "Thank you so much for getting me out of that hellhole. You just don't know how horrible it was to live like that."

Zoro knew how true this was. "When I was a pet, I was pretty much pampered. Your family made sure I had everything I needed except for my freedom."

"I made things harder for you than they had to be though," Josiah said, smile fading. Fletcher detected the change in Josiah's mood, and licked his face again until the smile returned. "I know, Boy! I love you too!"

"I gonna take you to Mom and Dad's in a little bit so you can recuperate," Emmi addressed her younger brother. "Once you're better, would you like to come work for me here? You'll get to help me eventually free all the hybrids on the island."

Years ago, he would have scoffed at such a thing, but now, being a hybrid himself, he was all for it. Without hesitation, Josiah shouted, "Yes! Yes, I would!"

Apprehension stirred in Zoro's stomach. He really didn't want to see Emmi and Josiah's parents, especially after what had happened after he'd last seen them.

"Don't worry, Zoro," Emmi said as if she'd realized how Zoro felt. "They won't bother you anymore. They'll just be happy you helped me get Josiah back."

Zoro wasn't so sure he wanted to go, even if it was just to take Josiah back. "I dunno..."

"Please trust me," Emmi said laying a hand on Zoro's shoulder. "After Josiah became a hybrid, their whole view on hybrids and their captivity completely changed. They're no longer a threat to your freedom."

Zoro sighed. "Alright, I'll go, but I'm keeping my distance."

\--------------------

"Josiah! Josiah! You're back! We've been so worried about you!"

As hugs ensued, Zoro watched the happy reunion from several yards away. He was glad that the boy had been reunited with his parents, but having dealt with them before, he wanted nothing to do with them. Emmi was trying to coax him to come over, but he wasn't going to move from that spot.

"He's a little hesitant to come inside because of the way he was treated before." He heard Emmi say to them.

"But why?" Emmi's mother asked, honestly confused as to why Zoro didn't want to come in. Then she turned to Zoro. "We didn't understand before, but we understand now, and we only want to apologize, and thank you for bringing back our son to us. We're really sorry for all the trouble we caused you years ago."

Zoro sighed. He really couldn't stay angry with them after that heartfelt apology. Still, he wasn't sure he was ready to trust these people. He gently gripped the hilt of Wadou, squeezing it in his hand, and letting go before hesitantly walking toward the entrance to the home.

After walking indoors and through the kitchen, he automatically looked to the right, noting that his cage was gone. Deep down, he knew it wouldn't still be there after all these years, but he found the fact that it was no longer there, comforting, and he let his guard down just a bit.

"They kept him down in the basement," Zoro said as Emmi's mother invited him to sit on the sofa. "Were starving him too. Before we brought him here, we cleaned him up and gave him a good, hot meal."

"Thank you so much, Zoro-san," Emmi's father said. "You just don't know how much this means to us that you've brought back our Josiah. I, too, apologize for the abysmal way we treated you years ago."

"Just Zoro is fine," Zoro told them, standing his katana next to his spot on the sofa before he sat down. "And apology accepted."

Emmi's mother stood to go to the kitchen, so she asked them, "Would any of you like anything to eat or drink?"

"Sake would be nice," Zoro said.

Luffy shouted, "Meat!"

Zoro cuffed him on the arm. "What if they don't _have_ meat? And you should be more specific."

"There are ham slices in the refrigerator, if you'd like that," Emmi's mother said.

"I'd love that!"

"I'm good," Katsuya said.

Zoro watched her as she went to get the items. He turned to Emmi's father. "So, what happened to the... cage..."

"We dismantled it after Josiah became a hybrid. To tell the truth, we kept it for awhile after you left because we'd hoped to have you brought back to us at some point. It wasn't until much later that Emmi had told us that she'd found the key to your collar, and shipped it off to you, along with the tool to remove your registration band. It was only after Josiah had become a hybrid, that we understood the importance of the Hybrid Freedom Movement. Before that, we didn't realize that you really were just as human after you became a hybrid as you were before, and for that, we're really sorry. You'd been trying to tell us, but we refused to listen."

"It's no problem, as long as you know now," Zoro said to the older man.

"I want to thank you again, for bringing our Josiah back to us. We thought we'd never see him again," Emmi's father confessed, near tears.

"He was easy for us to get back, though I'm sure his former owners are pretty pissed off with us about now," Zoro said as he received his cup of sake.

"A lot of the laws have changed in recent years, so they won't be able to easily get him back either," Emmi said.

"What do you think about all this, Jos..." Emmi's father trailed off as he looked over at Josiah, curled up in a plush armchair, wings folded behind him, fast asleep.

"After he recuperates, he's said that he wants to come work for me at my headquarters," Emmi said quietly as she watched Josiah sleep.

"That's great!" Emmi's mother said to her. "Something like that will be good for him."

"So Emmi," Luffy began as he slipped a slice of ham into his mouth. "If Josiah had been in captivity for this long, how come you didn't write us about it sooner? Like, around the time it first happened?"

"Well, first of all, we really wanted to try to get him back ourselves, plus, I knew that Zoro wouldn't have wanted to return so soon after leaving, especially since the authorities were still trying to recapture him around that time. Still, I'm so happy that you did decide to return, even if it was several years later."

"Well, the log pose pointed us to this island again, so in a way, we had to come anyway. I really don't relish the thought of having to spend the next five weeks here while the log pose sets though," Zoro said, thinking about how he really didn't want people hunting him over his wing color.

Luffy slid a protective arm around his spouse. "Me neither, especially if it means that the hybrid collectors are gonna bother Zoro."

"Oh, I'd already thought of that possiblity," Emmi told him. "So I've acquired an eternal pose to the next island."

Luffy usually wasn't one to accept an eternal pose to another island if it meant leaving the island they were on not fully explored, but this time, he made an exception. Zoro was uncomfortable here. And if his spouse was uncomfortable, who was he to keep staying here? "Thanks for the offer, Emmi. We'll take you up on it later."

Zoro turned to him surprised. "Really? You usually want to adventure."

"I had enough "adventure" here eight years ago," Luffy stated, slipping the last slice of ham into his mouth.

Seeing their wedding baands, Emmi's Mother asked Luffy, "So... How long have you two been married?" She'd sensed that Zoro was the quiet type who was probably uncomfortable with personal questions.

Luffy tightened his arm around Zoro. "We've been married for seven years, and together for ten. I know it sounds cliché, but ever since I met him... I can't imagine my life without him."

Even though it was years ago, Emmi's Mother felt bad for having tried to keep Zoro away from his soulmate, just because he was a beautiful specimen of hybrid.

"Anyway," Luffy continued. "We need to get going. Our crew's waiting on us. Maybe we can keep in touch?"

"Sounds good to us," Emmi's father said before Luffy, Zoro, Emmi, and Katsuya stood to take their leave, saying their goodbyes.

\--------------------

"Here is the eternal pose I promised you earlier," Emmi said, handing it to them. Luffy and Zoro were back at the Sunny with the rest of their crew.

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed gratefully as he received it in both hands. "We're going back to that flower island you liked so much! Thanks, Emmi!"

Zoro recalled the flower island Luffy spoke about. They'd made landfall there the last time they'd left this island, and he'd been pleasantly surprised to be able to obtain real nectar there, which made him really happy.

"No. Thank _you_ , for helping me get my brother back," Emmi said as she hugged both Luffy and Zoro. "If it wasn't for you guys... Especially you Zoro... We might've never seen him again!"

"It was nothing compared to how you helped me years ago," Zoro said, as he allowed himself to be hugged. "It was the least I could do."

"Anyway, hope your journey's full of more fun adventure!" Emmi said as she disembarked. "Until we meet again!" She waved at the couple as the Sunny slowly moved out into the calm blue waves.

Luffy grinned from ear-to-ear. "Say goodbye to Josiah for us!"

Emmi smiled happily. "I will!"

Luffy and Zoro waved at her until she and the island she lived on were just specks in the vast seas of the Grandline.

\--------------------

"Zoro?"

"Yeah Sencho?"

They lie in their shared bed, under the blankets, arms around one another, holding each other close. Zoro's head was under Luffy's chin.

"Aren't you glad we went back to that island? To get some closure?" Luffy asked sleepily.

After some thought, Zoro replied, "Yeah... I am."

"I love you so much, Zoro!" Luffy said, pulling Zoro even closer to him.

"I love you too, Luffy," Zoro said, closing his eyes, relaxing enough in Luffy's arms to slip into slumber.

  
END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank Hare003 for beta-ing this fic, and also for help when I'd get stuck. Thank you so much! *Huggles*


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